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urgencytobleedIt's nearly halfway through December already. How did that happen, right? I feel like the year has just flown right by. Of course the end of the year means it's almost time for me to post my annual list of favorite albums but I'm not nearly ready for that yet. There are still a few albums I haven't formed an opinion on yet and I feel like I'm discovering new stuff everyday that I should really listen to at least once before finalizing my list just in case I've missed something amazing. Of course that's the most fun/frustrating part of making these kinds of lists, isn't it? Looking back on them a year later and feeling stupid for not realizing the awesomeness of this one album that totally would have made your top five if only you had been thinking straight back then.
Anyway, with that sentiment in mind, let's talk about an album that I recently just fell in love with that probably would have been number two or three on my '09 list if my ears hadn't apparently been broken at the time: Hospice by the Antlers. When this was released, I eventually caved and downloaded it because of the seemingly simultaneous praise I was seeing it receive everywhere. But when I listened to it I was less than impressed. In fact, I'm not even sure I made it through the entire album. I thought it was one of the most boring and bland things I had ever heard and didn't understand what was so fantastic about it. So then I promptly forgot about it entirely. Fast forward to a couple months ago and after seeing it randomly mentioned somewhere on the Internet, I decided to give it another go. This time, the experience was the complete opposite of my first. I almost feel like I must have listened to the wrong album the first time because the thing that caught me most off-guard was that it's not at all as quiet and monotonous as I remember it being. Sure, there are several quiet spots, where the vocals are so hushed and muffled that it's nearly impossible to make the lyrics out over the music and the melodies are molasses-slow and almost funereal, but there are just as many loud and intense moments as well.
And the emotion in this album, oh my goodness. I'm not sure I've heard anything more pure and raw and aching than Hospice ever before. The entire album follows the thread of a single story, which tells of a man working in a hospital who meets and falls in love with a cancer patient and her slow deterioration right before his eyes. This is a devastating story in and of itself but Peter Silbermann's lyrics make it even more so. They're simple but highly effective and I could probably quote from them all day long.
I mean, I'm not one to advocate self-harm or anything but this is wrist-slitting music if I've ever heard it. Jesus, it's unbelievably depressing but also so incredibly beautiful. Even though it's far from my favorite song on the album, I think the most emotional and unsettling track for me right now is "Thirteen". Most of the song is instrumental but then at the very end a female voice comes in and sings the album's only lyrics through the girl's perspective:
The vocals there are so soft and restrained but at the same time, there is so much emotion in them, bubbling just beneath the surface, and not just one emotion but too many to name. The combination of that and those brief, pleading lines is just so potent... I can't even describe it properly. In fact, I can't describe the entirety of Hospice properly at all as you can tell by the rambling mess this entry has turned into. I guess it's better for you to just listen for yourself. And, hey, give it a couple of tries before you decide it's not for you, okay? It's the kind of album that really requires the listener to be in a certain emotional mindset while listening to it. Otherwise, it doesn't work nearly as well.
In other news, like I said, I haven't even got my albums of 2010 list nearly finished yet and already there are several releases I'm looking forward to next year! Here are some links to free downloads of tracks from a few of them. First, here's "Down by the Water" from the Decemberists' upcoming The King is Dead. It's going to take a lot to top The Hazards of Love for me but I have faith in them to do it or at least come close. Asobi Seksu have offered up "Trails" from Fluorescence. I enjoyed their last album, Hush, well enough but this sounds like it may be a return to a noisier, louder sound which I'm looking forward to. Eisley will finally be releasing new material in March, The Valley, which will be their first release on new label Equal Vision. You can download "Ambulance" from their official site right now. Though most Eisley fans probably have already heard it (I can't hear much difference between this and the Fire Kite EP version), at least there are still newer songs to look forward to soon. And if you haven't heard it, well, what are you waiting for? It's one of their most beautiful songs yet and Stacy's voice sounds heavenly. Finally, I'm also looking forward to the new Wye Oak release, Civilian, the title track from which can be heard here. I haven't been very into this band when I've tried in the past but this song is really, really good and I hope the rest of the album lives up to it.
Anyway, with that sentiment in mind, let's talk about an album that I recently just fell in love with that probably would have been number two or three on my '09 list if my ears hadn't apparently been broken at the time: Hospice by the Antlers. When this was released, I eventually caved and downloaded it because of the seemingly simultaneous praise I was seeing it receive everywhere. But when I listened to it I was less than impressed. In fact, I'm not even sure I made it through the entire album. I thought it was one of the most boring and bland things I had ever heard and didn't understand what was so fantastic about it. So then I promptly forgot about it entirely. Fast forward to a couple months ago and after seeing it randomly mentioned somewhere on the Internet, I decided to give it another go. This time, the experience was the complete opposite of my first. I almost feel like I must have listened to the wrong album the first time because the thing that caught me most off-guard was that it's not at all as quiet and monotonous as I remember it being. Sure, there are several quiet spots, where the vocals are so hushed and muffled that it's nearly impossible to make the lyrics out over the music and the melodies are molasses-slow and almost funereal, but there are just as many loud and intense moments as well.
And the emotion in this album, oh my goodness. I'm not sure I've heard anything more pure and raw and aching than Hospice ever before. The entire album follows the thread of a single story, which tells of a man working in a hospital who meets and falls in love with a cancer patient and her slow deterioration right before his eyes. This is a devastating story in and of itself but Peter Silbermann's lyrics make it even more so. They're simple but highly effective and I could probably quote from them all day long.
Two people talking inside your brain/Two people believing that I'm the one to blame/Two different voices coming out of your mouth/While I'm too cold to care and too sick to shout.
All the while, I'll know we're fucked and not getting unfucked soon.
When I try to move my arms sometimes, they weigh too much to lift/I think you buried me awake (my one and only parting gift).
When your helicopter came and tried to lift me out/I put its rope around my neck/And after that you didn't bother with the airlift or the rescue/You knew just what to expect.
The sensation was scissors and too much to scream/So instead, I just started to laugh.
All the while, I'll know we're fucked and not getting unfucked soon.
When I try to move my arms sometimes, they weigh too much to lift/I think you buried me awake (my one and only parting gift).
When your helicopter came and tried to lift me out/I put its rope around my neck/And after that you didn't bother with the airlift or the rescue/You knew just what to expect.
The sensation was scissors and too much to scream/So instead, I just started to laugh.
I mean, I'm not one to advocate self-harm or anything but this is wrist-slitting music if I've ever heard it. Jesus, it's unbelievably depressing but also so incredibly beautiful. Even though it's far from my favorite song on the album, I think the most emotional and unsettling track for me right now is "Thirteen". Most of the song is instrumental but then at the very end a female voice comes in and sings the album's only lyrics through the girl's perspective:
Pull me out
Pull me out
Can't you stop this all from happening?
Close the doors and keep them out
Dig me out
Oh, dig me out
Couldn't you have kept this all from happening?
Dig me out from under our house
Pull me out
Can't you stop this all from happening?
Close the doors and keep them out
Dig me out
Oh, dig me out
Couldn't you have kept this all from happening?
Dig me out from under our house
The vocals there are so soft and restrained but at the same time, there is so much emotion in them, bubbling just beneath the surface, and not just one emotion but too many to name. The combination of that and those brief, pleading lines is just so potent... I can't even describe it properly. In fact, I can't describe the entirety of Hospice properly at all as you can tell by the rambling mess this entry has turned into. I guess it's better for you to just listen for yourself. And, hey, give it a couple of tries before you decide it's not for you, okay? It's the kind of album that really requires the listener to be in a certain emotional mindset while listening to it. Otherwise, it doesn't work nearly as well.
In other news, like I said, I haven't even got my albums of 2010 list nearly finished yet and already there are several releases I'm looking forward to next year! Here are some links to free downloads of tracks from a few of them. First, here's "Down by the Water" from the Decemberists' upcoming The King is Dead. It's going to take a lot to top The Hazards of Love for me but I have faith in them to do it or at least come close. Asobi Seksu have offered up "Trails" from Fluorescence. I enjoyed their last album, Hush, well enough but this sounds like it may be a return to a noisier, louder sound which I'm looking forward to. Eisley will finally be releasing new material in March, The Valley, which will be their first release on new label Equal Vision. You can download "Ambulance" from their official site right now. Though most Eisley fans probably have already heard it (I can't hear much difference between this and the Fire Kite EP version), at least there are still newer songs to look forward to soon. And if you haven't heard it, well, what are you waiting for? It's one of their most beautiful songs yet and Stacy's voice sounds heavenly. Finally, I'm also looking forward to the new Wye Oak release, Civilian, the title track from which can be heard here. I haven't been very into this band when I've tried in the past but this song is really, really good and I hope the rest of the album lives up to it.
Alright, now I'm going back into my hole for awhile to sort out that damn list I keep talking about. Wish me luck!
