Review: The Antlers at The Ritz

Photo: The Antlers

The unhurried and dreamy soundscapes of The Antlers are probably not the first things that comes to mind when mulling over Brooklyn's finer exports. You’re most likely to reel off names like Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy or Jerry Seinfeld, but where do The Antlers fit in?

The answer is that they don't, their heritage may lie in the melting pot of one of the Big Apple’s famous five boroughs but their music belongs elsewhere.

Their sound is particular, it is overwhelming and emotional. It has been crafted over five albums of increasingly towering quality including the seminal Hospice and this year's Familiars (stream the album in full below), both impeccably thought out records.

The expanse of the Brooklyn-based band's music on the night is clear, their sentimental sound is a thing of real beauty, and is tremendously polished. There's shades of Pink Floyd in terms of the triumphant progression and the sustained length of their songs.

All evening, the soaring combination of piano led tracks married elegantly with the forlorn and sometimes painfully introspective words of Peter Silberman. Accompanying trumpets completed the lineup, they bellowed colossally, completing the patient yet towering sound.

The gently impassioned cries of Silberman and the retrospective layers of noise from Darby Cicci and Michael Lerner worked in sync, elegantly and thoughtfully composed, given a new lease of life in the live arena. Their career has crescendoed if you like, much like their poignant orchestral sound which those assembled within the sparsely populated Ritz were all too grateful to witness. 

Unusually early on stage due to promoters Now Wave having commitments elsewhere, the set, a resounding hour and a half (including encore) ended with an unusual track choice which would perhaps have been better suited to the more transient numbers, maybe the magical 'Hotel' or fan favourite 'Kettering' (above) which preceded it.

Alone, writing this review the following morning, a warm autumn day and the first of November, it becomes clear that the sounds of The Antlers are perfect for entertaining solitude and nostalgia. Their intimate music manages to sound sizeable, and I live in hope that the next time they roll into town there are more people at hand to get up close and personal with these masters of affectionate and downtempo rock.

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