Interview with Peter Silberman of The Antlers

What else can be said about Hospice that hasn’t already been shared? It’s a powerful tour de force that’s equal bounds absorbing as it is intense. It’s one of those albums that latches on to you and demands your attention; in summation, it’s one of the best albums this year has to offer. The mastermind behind it, Peter Silberman, sat down with DOA’s Bryan Sanchez to discuss, among other subjects, his band’s breakthrough album.

Delusions of Adequacy: I know you’ve done some shows in your New York area, how has it been to tour in your home area with this amazing album backing you? Do you have any plans to tour the U.S.?

Peter Silberman: Touring’s been interesting.  We’ve been touring on and off since the fall, and it’s been great, but definitely a learning experience.  Your first tours are rough, but if you’re working hard, they get better with each run.  So we’re going to keep touring, and likely try to be gone more than home.

DOA: Speaking of the album, it was self-released, like everything else you have done. Why not sign to a label?

PS: Honestly, after the record was finished and we spent some months trying to figure out what to do with it, the conclusion we reached was that we wanted to release it as soon as possible.  In the position we were in at the time, looking for and signing with a label would have meant waiting much longer to release it.  This way, we were able to be at the helm of everything and work on our own schedule.  That being said, we’ve turned into a bit of our own record label at this point, and are working on finding a home for Hospice and future releases. There are a lot of reasons to sign and not to sign, and the weight of the decision’s different for every band.  Being your own label is insanely time-consuming, but I think bands should do it as long as humanly possible.  You learn so much by doing that.

DOA: Now, the liner notes list a quintet but The Antlers are a trio right?

PS: Yep.  The lineup changed up a bit in the beginning, but we’ve been a solid trio since we began touring and aim to keep it that way.

DOA: With Hospice, this is an album filled with symbolic imagery, vivid story-telling and heart-gripping tales, can you share what you were going for?

PS: A lot of the writing for Hospice came from nightmares, or sort of half-awake moments.  A lot of insane thoughts came about in the period right before falling asleep, or half-waking up in the middle of the night.  They’re not generally thoughts that are far from reality, but they’re bent a bit toward nonsense.  So I tried to incorporate the relevant versions of those ideas into the story I’d already been working on within the songs.  Hopefully that makes sense.

DOA: I read that when you moved to New York, you didn’t really enjoy your initial moments there. Some of the lyrics are so heartfelt and poignantly bittersweet, were you going through a rough time?

PS: My first year or so in New York was weird.  I wouldn’t blame the city itself for that, because it’s an amazing place, and as frustrated as I’ll ever become with it, I’ll never hate it.  It took an enormous amount of adjustment, as it does with any transplant.  It just so happened that there were other rocky relationships in my life at the time that got worse with my move here.  But that rocky time is gone now as well.

DOA: Are you pleased with the way Hospice turned out?

PS: I think by the time the record was done, it was really done.  There was nothing left to write and nothing left to record or fix.  It had reached the point where I knew it was going to start making less and less sense the longer the process went on, so when it was completed, I was ready.  I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time and energy on anything in my life.  It’s the album I wanted to make.

DOA: I know you list Okkervil River as one of your inspirations, the emotional songwriting is similar, how much have they affected you?

PS: I’ve loved Okkervil River for a few years now, and have listened to Black Sheep Boy more than most albums.  I think whether or not I intended for it to happen, that album influenced Hospice in a pretty major way.

DOA: Judging by the sound, there was some unique production going on, what techniques did you employ?

PS: I’m not a professional recording engineer by any means.  It’s all been trial and error.  But I enjoy piling a million things on top of one another until they become a solid-ish whole.  I also like using cheapo shoebox tape recorders.  They distort and change tone in a really bizarre, damaging way.

DOA: Your singing is chilling when needed, crushing when warranted and quiet in the tender moments, what are some of your personal influences?

PS: I think Jeff Buckley & Thom Yorke were inevitable influences when I was growing up.  Over the past few years, I’ve been much more interested in bizarre voices with feeling in them.  Though I don’t know who those would be, off the top of my head. It’s the sort of voice that you know when you hear it.  I’ve been listening to Nina Simone a bunch lately, too…

DOA: What are some of your favorite artists currently making music?

PS: There’s probably a million.  I can’t name them all, so I’ll just say Massive Attack & The Flaming Lips, but my favorite of both groups’ albums came out at least 10 years ago.  I’m omitting almost everything I love.

DOA: Any favorite albums from recent years that have had a lasting impact?

PS: As far as albums released in the past couple of years, some of my favorites would have to be The Dodos’ Visiter, Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above & Bitte Orca, The Walkmen’s You & Me, The National’s Boxer, Panda Bear’s Person Pitch, Belong’s October Language, Frightened Rabbit’s The Midnight Organ Fight….again, I’m leaving off so many of the best.

DOA: As a band, are you enjoying your current success?

PS: I don’t know if I’d call it “success” right now… Things feel like they’re moving in an overwhelmingly positive direction, and we’re hoping that continues.  It’s a wonderful feeling to know that a record you care so much about it being heard by so many people, and the potential of being able to make music full time is unbelievably exciting.

DOA: I hope you aren’t planning to disappear again, what’s your timeframe to get into the studio and deliver another gem?

PS: Hopefully soon.  I think we’ll probably do an EP soon, and then after that, work on a new LP.  But it’s anyone’s guess when that’ll be done.  Luckily, our studio is a home studio, so when we decide to start, we can work around the clock.