So this week I lost an old friend at the ridiculous age of 35 and unsurprisingly I've been in a kind of morbid, reflective mood which saw me delve into the archive section of my CD collection for company.

There's a particular album that I return to from time to time that to be honest isn't the most accessible nor frequently listened to in the pile. However since it's release (2009), it's probably been one of the most important records that I own.

"Hospice" is the debut album released by Brooklyn's The Antlers. To cut a long story short, it's essentially a self-released 10 track autobiographical tale of loss, inspired and written by lead singer Peter Silberman.

Unsurprisingly the story of a cancer sufferer's relationship with her carer wasn't an easy sell for most commercial radio stations, and consequently it kind of flew under the radar - which to say is a shame is a laughable understatement.

Picking a particular song to post was difficult as its essentially an album telling a chronological story and to appreciate it's full beauty you really want to be invested from the start. With that said "Kettering" is probably the best trailer in terms of setting the expectations (musically & lyrically).

It may not be current, easily accessible or even appreciated by most but it's truly as brilliant and heartbreaking a piece of work as you're likely to come across. And who know's, it may prove to be a comfort blanket for someone else too?

Lyrics

I wish that I had known in that first minute we met, the unpayable debt that I owed you. Because you’d been abused by the bone that refused you, and you hired me to make up for that. Walking in that room when you had tubes in your arms, those singing morphine alarms out of tune kept you sleeping and even, and I didn’t believe them when they called you a hurricane thunderclap.

When I was checking vitals I suggested a smile. You didn’t talk for awhile, you were freezing. You said you hated my tone, it made you feel so alone, and so you told me I ought to be leaving. But something kept me standing by that hospital bed, I should have quit, but instead I took care of you. You made me sleep and uneven, and I didn’t believe them when they told me that there was no saving you.

posted by Staff
October 2015