Considering the rave reviews of the Antlers’ 2009 album and all the arena tours that followed, it could be misconstrued that a title like Burst Apart would be about the trials and tribulations of blowing up. Actually, Peter Silberman’s second album is an album without a concept -- a bit of a relief after the deathbed theme that weighed down Hospice. For Burst Apart, Silberman puts his personal tragedy behind him and starts anew by burying himself in electronics to make a unique sort of wistful chamber pop for the digital age. Michael Lerner and multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci return to flesh out the songs, but Boards of Canada and Air are more of a guiding force this time than the fuzz-folkish Neutral Milk Hotel influence heard on Hospice. As before, the atmospheric electronics of “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” and “Parentheses” are comparable to latter-day Radiohead, but for most of Burst Apart, the Antlers sound like a glossy, adult contemporary version of Deerhunter. Silberman’s voice has strengthened and his silky falsetto leads the slick wash of echoey beats and spacy synths. In the best moments, “Putting the Dog to Sleep,” “French Exit,” and “Rolled Together” have slow-tumbling, watery melodies that shimmer and swell to big tidal-wave hooks. Hospice may have been organic and fragile, but Burst Apart is sleek and self-assured, and the new image suits Silberman and the Antlers well.
© Jason Lymangrover /TiVo