Little known Brooklyn band The Antlers surprised even themselves when their sophomore LP Hospice sold out its first pressing. The Antlers self-produced Hospice with modest expectations, it’s an ambitious concept album focused on the themes of loss and desperation. Before the band knew it, they were signed to the boutique recording label Frenchkiss, home of bands like Passion Pit, Les Savy Fav and the DoDos.
Headed to Austin for their show with Au Revoir Simone and Austin’s Oh No Oh My this Saturday night, The Antlers’ Peter Silberman chatted with the Daily Texan about writing the weighty, yet accessible Hospice as well as his transition from solo artist to band member and the emotional burden of touring with such raw and vulnerable music.
Daily Texan: What does the whirlwind success of this album feel like for such a young band? You went from making your own CDs to singing with Frenchkiss in a matter on months, how did it feel?
Peter Silberman: It was really unexpected and I think we really hoped for it to do this well but you never expect it. The likelihood that people latch onto what you’re making is so low... It’s been a big change in a very short time. My favorite thing about it is just to hear people connecting with the record… at the core of [making music is about] wanting people to hear what you’ve been working on … [so] the hard work becomes justified.
DT: Hospice is a very full and ambitious work both musically and with regards to the narrative concept of the work… did the idea begin as a huge project or did it built on itself while recording?
Silberman: I think right away I knew that it was going to be a big thing to tackle. The concept and the story came before the album was even begun. There was a lot of painstaking work and obsessing and redoing to try to get it right and I think I made every effort to not rush it and just take all the time possible because I knew this was going to be so different and there was a lot of potential for it to totally fail and not work at all.
DT: I understand that The Antlers started as a solo project? Can you tell me about the process of incorporating new musicians?
Silberman: I was doing the solo thing for a while and when I moved to the New York I continued doing it for about a year until I just got so completely sick of working by myself. Then it was just a matter of finding the right lineup and some people came and went and others stayed and those others were Michael and Darby ... Since then it’s become much more of a collaborative thing. We are all arranging different parts and I like this much better. I am really glad to be working with a collaborative group again.
DT: With such raw and vulnerable content, what is the emotional burden of touring for this album?
Silberman: It was really intense while writing and recording the album. Especially with the knowledge that people were going to be listening to it afterwards ... And since then I have had to develop a different relationship with the music. If I had to relive the emotions every night, I’d lose my mind.. but I’ve been working on making my peace with it. Playing these shows have been a good way to do that.
