Meeting and recording Peter Silberman and his band, The Antlers, was an inevitable occurence happily triggered by the unexpected lineup of events involving a friend named Little Bear, California wildfires and a sweet little label called Frenchkiss Records who grabbed up this absolutely brilliant musical sculptor - an artist oozing with his own raw emotion in epic song-stories while deftly plying the emotional pallette of his listeners.

Foregoing an unneccesary and wending tale, I will tell you the circumstances couldn't have been more perfect or more delightful.

While Silberman's body of work has been previously solo-focused, his latest album, Hospicemarks the "transition away from The Antlers as a solo-project and toward being a band." Hospice is unusual but uncontrived - a thematic record, drawing from personal experiences, which explores, from an observer's perspective, the agony of a passage from life to death, slyly juxtaposing light and dark, beauty and horror, melodically appealing and lyrically disturbing.

Joining Silberman as the band are Darby Cicci on keyboard/synthesizer, providing an unbounded pad of support that appeals as a protected, cosmic wood and Michael Lerner, super solid, impressing an unfailing rhythmic pulse on drums.

Silberman's voice is the crown jewel here. Whether perfect-pitch falsetto or natural, it shimmers masculinely pretty and pained, sprinkled with the slightest hint of tasteful vibratto here and there. The songs vulnerably, intimately depict angularly uncomforable scenes set against spacious yet earthly backdrops of vast forest solitude. Intriguing material, especially from a 23-year-old young man who calls Brooklyn home.

The Antlers - Two - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers on Vimeo.

Silberman's strength, fearlessness and loyalty remind me of the one-of-a-kind, mythical forest-dwelling monkey-warrior-god, Hanuman. Radiating pure, humble magnetism, he strikes me as private, intense, sensitive and a devoted friend. His doe-eyed way elicits the spontaneous desire to extend compassionate embraces. You just want to hug the guy. Ultimately, Silberman and The Antlers inspire bright feelings of beaming sunshine across breaking skies.  

With the exception of East West Berlin Wall, the songs from The Antlers' live Luxury Wafers Session can be found on their upcoming re-mastered release, Hospice (Frenchkiss, 8/18/09).

Two, the live video performance, glimmers extra-rich here, with Silberman on mandolin for the duration. The Antlers evoke the penetrating sound and feeling of standing, emotionally surrendered, knee-deep in the midst of a rejuvenating rainfall.

Listen to the Exclusive Tracks (option/click to download):

Atrophy [mp3]

Bear [mp3]

Shiva [mp3]

East River Berlin Wall [mp3]

Previous:The Antlers, Two (mp3), The Antlers, Hospice Streaming

Check out a bunch of PHOTOS of The Antlers, Live@Chessvolt Studios.

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