The Antlers have built this record from raw emotion, solemn thoughts and seamless melody – working with rhythms, guitars and electronics – levitated with the faultless vocal from Pete Silberman. Their previous record, ‘Hospice’, hinted at the pain, and now we get the aptly titled ‘Burst Apart’, a set of devastating beauty from the Brooklyn based band.

From the offset you are surrounded by melancholy, rolled into repetitive beats, electronic keys and reverberated production. ‘No Widows’ echoes endlessly with Silberman’s tones floating just out of reach. ‘I Don’t Want Love’ swings between falling chords and cascading piano, and manages to create an intimate ballad with an epic heart.

These songs centre on the exposed intonation possessed by Silberman’s falsetto – the music comforting his impassioned highs and reflective delivery. ‘Hounds’ lets the electric guitar quietly pick as the front-man journeys between the high-pitched croons and a safely obscured and unassuming whisper. Other highlights include the fast-beating ‘Every Night My Teeth are Falling Out’ – its muddied guitars rock intermittently, before falling head first across a continual collection of keyboards.

True enough, the many waves of synthetics flooding these songs thicken the atmosphere – yet the record retains a slightly muffled, almost low-key aura, keeping it clear from the crowd of unsubtle, heavy-handed, ballad-hungry bands which circle the industry. And, of course, you need soul to create music with such an emotional punch, and The Antlers seem to have more than their fair share – just check the album closer ‘Putting the Dog to Sleep’. The singular, reverberated hits from the guitar are like an old piece of 60s soul, the drummer keeps it tight (with an understated, offbeat rhythm) and Silberman bounces between the two of them (the synths suitably backing him up).

You won’t hear many records this year that can stir up emotion as effortlessly as The Antlers do on ‘Burst Apart’.

-David Stone-