Album Review: The Antlers - Undersea EP

The Antlers
Undersea EP
Rating: Grrrr

The Antlers can never be accused of being a party band; their music remaining decidedly serious and somber, dwelling on the darker sides of existence. Their breakout record Hospice was a searingly intense song cycle about hospitalization as an emotional private prison, while the slightly brighter follow up Burst Apart still focused resolutely on the pitfalls of relationships. With their new EP Undersea, The Antlers find themselves still on a decidedly morose trajectory, but where Hospice and Burst Apart have an almost brutal honesty and directness, the lyrics on Undersea are more opaque and impressionistic, open to more interpretations than allowed previously. In keeping with the water theme of the title, musically the tracks all meander and wind slowly and methodically, everything cast in a gauzy haze. There is a almost epicness to these tracks, as if the spirits of Sigur Ros and Spiritualized somehow took over the proceedings.

Languid opener "Drift Drive" pairs mourning slide guitars, piano, and harps to the tale of the earth ending, or perhaps just a relationship, accepting that there is no need to hold on, singing "Slow it down, wait it out/We can't run, but we can go swimming/Diving in late at night, we come together/Dissolving into/A million pieces in a billion places."



The 8 and 1/2 minutes of "Endless Ladder" is like a Sisyphean hurdle, ever climbing higher but never really getting anywhere. The lack of catharsis is at once oppressive and also exhilarating.



"Crest" adds a more psychedelic tone to the EP, incorporating liquidy atmospherics to the bed of trippy guitars and 50s horn blasts.



Ending with the hauntingly beautiful ballad "Zelda," Undersea goes out on a high note, taking the previous tracks' mood and incorporating them all into one concise package. The song is a rumination on the overwhelming vastness of life and ultimately how insignificant we all are, with lyrics like "Zelda/It's just not important/The small things we suffer/They're infinitesimal/We swim in an ocean/It swims between us."



EPs are always an interesting prospect for bands; either as a way to test out new directions or just bide time in between full length releases. The Antlers wisely chose the former approach and made their sound more expansive and cinematic, while also choosing to tackle their lyrics in a less direct manner. If their intent was to really spark interest in a new direction for the band, they have easily won me over. Undersea is another feather in their cap.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.