Burst Apart

Burst Apart
Studio album by The Antlers
Released May 10, 2011
Recorded Watcher's Woods, Brooklyn,
September 2010 – January 2011
Genre Indie rock, chamber pop
Length 41:27 (46:30 - iTunes Bonus Track)
Language English
Label Frenchkiss Records / Transgressive Records
Producer The Antlers
The Antlers chronology

Hospice
(2009)		 Burst Apart
(2011)		 Undersea
(2012)

Burst Apart is the fourth studio album by American indie rock group The Antlers. It was released on Frenchkiss Records on May 10, 2011 and the day before in the UK / Japan / Europe by Transgressive Records. It began streaming on the National Public Radio website on April 24, 2011. The cover art was designed by Zan Goodman, who also designed the album cover for their previous album, Hospice.

The track "Parentheses" was released as an iTunes single on April 5, 2011.[1]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Antlers. 

No. Title Length
1. "I Don't Want Love"   3:22
2. "French Exit"   4:06
3. "Parentheses"   3:29
4. "No Widows"   5:20
5. "Rolled Together"   4:40
6. "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out"   3:26
7. "Tiptoe"   2:24
8. "Hounds"   5:19
9. "Corsicana"   3:42
10. "Putting the Dog to Sleep"   5:48
11. "Tongue Tied" (iTunes Deluxe Version bonus track) 5:03

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 81/100[2]
Review scores
Source Rating
Absolute Punk 88%[3]
Allmusic [4]
The A.V. Club A-[5]
Consequence of Sound [6]
Delusions of Adequacy very positive[7]
One Thirty BPM 91%[8]
Paste positive[9]
Pitchfork Media 8.2/10[10]
Slant Magazine [11]
Spin 6/10[12]
Sputnikmusic [13]

Upon its release, Burst Apart received highly positive reviews from most critics. It was featured on many best of the year lists of music magazines and was voted album of the year 2011 by Drowned in Sound. It currently holds a score of 81 from review aggregate website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim."[14] Most critics have noted the contrast between Burst Apart and its predecessor Hospice, a highly conceptual album about a hospice worker who falls in love with a dying patient.Pitchfork Media gave the album an 8.2 rating and endorsed it with its "Best New Music" label; reviewer Ian Cohen remarked that although Burst Apart could not achieve the cult-like following of Hospice, it is "still tethered to a magnanimity and expressive clarity that makes it almost every bit as devastating."[10] Jeremy Aaron of AbsolutePunk said that while the record "marks a move away from the stifling bleakness" of Hospice, it is still "an incredible sounding album," composed with "breathtaking elegance."[3] Marc Hawthorne of The AV Club likewise commented on the difference, writing that Hospice "bummed everyone out--in the best possible way," but that The Antlers were able to create a followup that "easily reaches grand, dramatic heights even while remaining relatively subdued."[5]

Credits

References

  1. ↑ iTunes listing for "Parentheses" - Single
  2. ↑ "The Antlers - Burst Apart- Music Review". Metacritic.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jeremy Aaron (May 11, 2011). "Antlers, The - Burst Apart - Album Review". Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  4. ↑ Jason Lymangrover. "Burst Apart – The Antlers". Allmusic.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marc Hawthorne (May 10, 2011). "The Antlers: Burst Apart". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
  6. ↑ Caitlin Meyer (April 29, 2011). "Album Review: The Antlers – Burst Apart". Consequence of Sound.
  7. ↑ Bryan Sanchez (May 18, 2011). "The Antlers - Burst Apart: DOA". Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  8. ↑ Rob Hakimian (May 9, 2011). "Album Review: The Antlers - Burst Apart". One Thirty BPM.
  9. ↑ Luke Winkie (May 9, 2011). "The Antlers: Burst Apart". Paste.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ian Cohen (May 12, 2011). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: The Antlers: Burst Apart". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  11. ↑ Matthew Cole (May 20, 2011). "The Antlers - Burst Apart". Slant Magazine.
  12. ↑ Michael Tedder (Apr 30, 2011). "The Antlers, 'Burst Apart' (Frenchkiss)". Spin.
  13. ↑ Rudy Klapper (May 8, 2011). "The Antlers – Burst Apart (Staff Review)". Sputnikmusic.
  14. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Burst Apart at Metacritic". Retrieved 2011-05-11.