While the still fairly new Pitchfork Music Festival has drawn in some big names (The National, the Flaming Lips) for this year’s fest, there are a couple of newer bands that I am excited to see for the first time. One of the bands I am most excited to see live is the Antlers; a last minute addition to the show. The group released its first full-length release Hospice earlier this year, with a re-issue due out later this year via Frenchkiss Records. The 52 minute Hospice is dramatic, moody and emotionally exhilarating. The 10 songs take a while to built up steam, but they are well worth the investment.

The long, slow burners have the kind of cerebral punch that many bands make an attempt for, with most falling by the wayside by either sounding too over zealous or coming across as insincere. Like Montreal’s Arcade Fire, the Antlers have taken something sad (in this case the death of a family friend) and created something strikingly beautiful out of it. Like a loving elegy at a funeral, Hospice is a broken-hearted lament that finds the light that has flickered on through the long cold night. The band’s redeeming sound is exemplified with the great song “Two,” which is six minutes of downtrodden, but still hopeful, music that will tug on your heartstrings. The album will not grab you instantly, but when it does it has the potential to knock the wind out of you in a way that only something as uniquely genuine as Hospice can.

The Antlers “Two” (mp3)

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