Hospice

Today's Music of the Day is Hospice, by The Antlers. This came to me by way of eMusic, at the recommendation of a friend. No back story today, just discussion about music.

Hospice is a fairly enjoyable and uplifting record, despite falling somewhere between indie rock and moody film soundtrack. There are vocals, but not much to sing along to; they tend to be muted, almost whispered, appearing only to break up the cloudy piano temporarily. Some strings and horns have a presence, albeit in limited supporting roles.

This is a quiet album, one that doesn't force listening, but requires some attention. Hospice is very much in the vein of DM Stith's Heavy Ghost, and this is a good thing. It's not much of a party record, but in terms of atmosphere, it's has a definite presence. While the tracks that make use of the speakers more tend to stand out (in particular, the gorgeous crescendo of "Wake"), the whole album is pretty solid. I wouldn't mind seeing Antlers engage the listener a little more in the future, but there's definitely not much to complain about here.

In Short: give this a shot, you'll have to pay attention, but it's probably going to be worth it.

In Other News:
I had planned to be on the road and having dinner elsewhere tonight, and haven't purchased rations in a few days, so the evening meal may be an interesting affair. By 'interesting', I mostly mean 'peanut butter-based'.