Song #3: The Antlers - "Bear"

When I told my friend Adam - currently in the other room making eggs - that I'd only heard of The Antlers, and had never actually listened to them, he pretty much flipped."ANTLERS! ANTLERS! ANTLERS!", he cried, rushing in to play me a track from their album Hospice.

 

That track was Bear. The album has been critically acclaimed throughout the year, and with my first introduction to them, it's not difficult to see why. In a vein similar to Neutral Milk Hotel, this is indie rock with a bleak, world-weary outlook and a mixed sense of joy, nostalgia, sorrow and letting go. It's wonderfully executed - the vocals are pensive and quietly powerful, the upbeat rhythm a bizarre contrast, and the lyrics paint a tragic picture:

But we'll make only quick decisions
And you'll just keep my in the waiting room.
And all the while I'll know we're fucked
And not getting unfucked soon
When we get home we're bigger strangers than we've ever been before
You sit in front of snowy television, suitcase on the floor

FINAL RATING (/10): 8

Just when I thought that the album of the year race had already been decided, Hospise rears its head. Or antlers; whatever you prefer. Still, this is very much worth a listen. It's bittersweet, heartbreaking and solemn - the exact kind of traits music like this needs. Matter of fact, 'round these parts it's a compliment.

XX
David