Customer Reviews

Hospice [Vinyl]

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Thinking about this album, the term Lo-fi (regardless of the new subgenre it now refers to) would imply lower sound quality (as a result of cheaper equipment used during production) or at the very least a stripped down sound without a great deal of multitracking. However, the use of low end synths, circuit bending, etc. has redefined Lo-fi (somewhat ironically.) Ironic because an album such as Hospice, which is a veritable sonic masterpiece, is associated with a term that evokes the static crackle of an old Lead Belly record. I am assuming that the digital wash which underpins certain tracks or the sustained, modulating notes which weave their way around the refrains and punctuate the intermissions conjure this connection. Make no mistake however; the clarity of sound is amazing. This is certainly an aural pièce de résistance which justifies the existence of 500 dollar headphones (almost.)

Upon listening to this album, one might be reminded of certain moments from Kid A, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets, along with elements of shoegaze and post-rock which are used sparingly and to great effect. However, this album is far from being a pastiche of the previously mentioned albums or musical approaches. In fact, holistically it doesn't necessarily sound like any one of them though if one were to deconstruct Hospice, certain elements of the previously mentioned albums would be present. And by using post rock/shoegaze as a tool instead of as a template, they brilliantly avoid some of the pitfalls for those respective genres. Thus, instead of being a 70 minute album with 5 songs, Hospice is ultimately a great pop album with excellent song craft which is woven within a shoegaze tapestry.

For example, while a song like "Thirteen" on a typical post-rock album would be used to segue between two 10 minute exercises in dynamics, inevitably leading to a crescendo and the subsequent wall of sound, on Hospice it serves as the bridge between "bear" and "two", tracks which are ultimately more indebted to Pet Sounds than any "experimental" forms of music. Luckily this approach brings a necessary levity to an album which delves painfully and effectively into the reality of death, and not death in any romanticized notion which lends itself to fashion, aesthetics and narcissism. This album tackles the pained notion of death as negation, the end of life, the end of hope, the end of connection. Within this context we are given the moral complexity of interacting with those who are dying (and not in the Sylvia Plath sense), the power dynamic it entails, the conflicting feelings, the real human experience stripped bare and revealed.

For a concept album, it masterfully avoids (both lyrically and sonically) the maudlin trappings that punctuate so many concept albums. There is not a single moment of self-indulgence on this album, a maturity that is shocking for such a relatively new band. It is truly a feat to make a concept album about someone dying in a hospice without falling into self-pity, exaggeration, egoism or theatrics. It is quite simply amazing. These are a group of musicians who see through the glass more clearly than most.

I would also like to steer people away from the pretensions expressed by other reviewers in relation to this album. I am not sure what an upbringing is in the "Indie Music Tradition", but I have never tried to craft an identity out of my record collection. Any problems of accessibility have less to do with "Indie Music" and more to do with openness. Someone who would immediately dismiss this album would probably dismiss John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" for the same reasons. That is not to say that a John Coltrane fan would necessarily like Hospice or vice-versa, but a willingness to try something different is far more important than any inclinations towards a term which doesn't really encapsulate any specific genre of music to begin with. I also don't get any references to Bon Iver (with the exception of the occasional use of falsetto) or the Decembrists (outside of the fact that they've both done concept albums.)

All in all, this album is simply powerful, beautiful, poignant, emotionally gripping and a post-modern masterpiece. It is not an album to dance to, I'm not even sure if it's an album I would want to listen to with other people. There is an overwhelming sense of intimacy with very difficult themes that does not lend itself to casualness. I once remember Kind Rock criticizing Radiohead for making music that he couldn't even imagine throwing on at a party. While being an avid fan of Radiohead while concurrently thinking of Kid Rock as one of the worst things to happen to music in my lifetime, I do get his point. There is music for all seasons, and not everyone is willing to grapple with what comes after the autumn leaves have fallen. For those who are, this album is a perfect and beautiful artistic expression of the ever looming terminus at the end of this long and winding road. I cannot recommend it enough.

I had a stroke this past June. When I listen to this album it moves me to tears. I cannot get the music out of my head. I am just blown away. I am moved to tears. Feeling hopeless and alone in a hospital is a horrid thing.

I tend not to get too emotionally affected by music, mostly because I usually ignore lyrics unless they're especially clever, and well, a lot of musicians don't try that hard. But it's difficult to pay attention to Hospice at all and not get hit by it. It figures that only a couple weeks after I wrote a "best of 2009" list which featured nothing that made a huge impact on me, I'd hear an album as gripping as anything in recent memory. The music itself is only part of the equation, and you can't talk about Hospice without mentioning its origins. From what I can tell it's more or less the true story of the singer falling in love with a terminal bone cancer patient at the hospital where he worked. You can probably guess how well that works out.

Despite the simple honesty of the lyrics, they never really hit you over the head with the message, and it's easy to ignore the content if you just want to hear a nice mix of shoegazing post-rock and indie folkiness (why isn't this a more popular combination?), though if you do you're not giving it a fair chance to do everything it can. Some people probably wouldn't want to hear an album that would only depress the hell out of them, and that's fine. But it's one of the more powerful listening experiences I've had in a while.

Despite the sorrow of the words and the sincerity with which they're sung, it wouldn't work if the music was bad, and fortunately it's not. There's a fair amount of time spent without much happening beyond ambient noise, and it's difficult to love every moment when it feels like you're being pulled out of the flow a bit. There's a push and pull with the general sound as it goes between a strumming guitar and louder noise elements, and it could have gotten bogged down in its own seriousness. Luckily it's catchy enough in places to just be enjoyable to listen to, even while they're playing songs about abortion and knowing that someone you love is dying. I don't want to name individual tracks, because it really should be experienced as a full album, and it all runs together like one long piece of music. If you just want a taste though, it's okay to look up the music video for "Two". I'm definitely interested in seeing what this group does next now that this story has been told.

More than deserving of a 5/5. I literally give this album a 100%

This is a truly emotional and beautiful album. It seems to be a concept album, circling around someone's stay & ultimate death in a hospital. (Perhaps an abortion) &it really communicates all the emotion that comes along with that. Beautiful melodies and vocals that always seem heavy with sorrow, but just enough noise to express the helplessness and rage one would feel at someone's hospital bed.

Wake is the most beautiful song I've heard in a long time.

God, my words don't do this album justice. Just get it. You will be happy and sad and in awe and f***ing blown away.

Wow. It's taken me three days and many riveted listens to figure out how to write this review. Those who've compared this to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea aren't that far off and fans of NMH will fall in love with this one instantly.

But the most accurate comparison I can make is to Lou Reed's Berlin. Both deal with brutally raw subject matter. The lyrics of both suck you into into the most intimate details of another's life (by the way, you can find them for this album at [...]) and death. Both have simple haunting melodies at their core. Add in deep emotionally delivered vocals and you have album length single pieces of roller-coaster manic-depressive music that, if you have the open mind and strength to really listen to, you will never forget.

There are only a few albums that play with my emotions like this (and I love every second of it). Roger Water's The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking and Radiohead's The Bends are two that come to mind and were I more clever I am sure I could have figured out how to tie them into this review in a more meaningful way.

Don't expect alternative rock. Don't expect indy pop. Don't expect lo-fi.

Do yourself a favor: find art.

Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for these concept, narrative albums- even ones that aren't as masterful, atmospheric, well-worded, and balanced as this one- so how could I, seeing such a treasure being mostly ignored, refrain in all good consciousness from joining its meager, vocal appreciators' ranks?

I don't usually do reviews but this album compelled me to do so. I bought it because it was one of the 50 for $5 here at Amazon. I listened to the song samples and decided to give it a shot. The album is brilliant......but the subject matter is heavy, to say the least. I'm impressed by the bravery that it must have taken to write and record such personal songs. Anyone who is willing to bare their souls to this extent deserves my respect. The songs are rich and textured and the lyrics are sublime. This purchase was worth every penny. I will definitely be buying more music by The Antlers in the future.

I am 14. This is definitely one of the best albums of the decade in my opinion. It is so deep, and so sad. Anyways, the thing that gets me is that when I try to show my friends, they are pushed away because of the sadness. You must me mature to listen to this album and actually like it. I love this album, the story is absolutely amazing and sad, but sad in a good way. Buy this album!

This album is incredible. If you're into bands that create an atmosphere and build up to a climax in a lot of their songs, then this is the album for you. It is one of the greatest concept albums I've ever listened to, the music fits so well with the setting. More importantly, it is one of the greatest albums of any kind that I have listened to. You can listen to these songs over and over and over again and they just don't grow old. I have to see these guys live, and I really hope future albums live up to the standards they set for themselves with this one.

You might not think a concept album about an emotionally lacerating relationship with a terminally ill cancer patient is your idea of a fun time, and maybe you'd be right. But it does make for a truly beautiful, emotionally stirring experience.

The melodies are simple -- at first sounding too simple maybe -- and the words plain-spoken and literal, but this record achieves a poetic intensity in portraying Silberman's fear, pain and above all, loneliness. In "Bear," the singer fantasizes a life with the dying woman outside of the hospital -- one that is just as miserable as their life together inside the hospital. "When we get home [from the abortion clinic] we're bigger strangers than before/You sit in front of snowy television, suitcase on the floor" -- absolutely perfect, a few well-chosen details capture the desperation and loneliness of this relationship in two lines.

Except for the occasional post-rock sound blitz, the music consists mainly of an echo-laden piano, accompanying Silberman's quavering, high-pitched vocals. But it consistently holds my interest (except for the long aimless interlude in the middle of "Atrophy," which is a mistake). This may all sound unremittingly bleak, but it isn't without humor. For instance, in "Sylvia," a great lilting 50's rock-style chorus kicks in, opening with the words "Sylvia, get your head out of the oven!" (At least I hope Antlers realize how funny that is!). At the same time, I can't help but wonder what in the world attracted Silberman to this angry, angry, dying woman.

The only other record I can think of that hits this level of emotional depth is NMH's "Aeroplane Over the Sea." Hospice isn't quite at that exalted level, although it comes close on the concluding "Epilogue," a literal nightmare about a figuratively nightmare experience, which brought me close to tears the first time I heard it. Silberman's high falsetto in the last repeated choruses is among the most achingly beautiful singing in popular music.