The Antlers outdo the hipster crowd with Burst Apart

The Antlers: not hipsters or lumberjacks

Readers1 may have figured out by now that I'm not a big fan of hipsters or hip. Every time I listen to something by a Brooklyn band these days, I brace myself for the usual cascade of disappointment, bewilderment and rage. So much of the Williamsburg scene seems like empty posturing and hapless harmonizing.

So I was surprised to find that I really enjoy Brooklyn-based The Antlers' new record, Burst Apart. I've only listened a few times through but haven't been able to pull myself away.

The trio -- singer guitarist Peter Silberman, drummer Michael Lerner and keyboardist, etc, Darby Cicci -- has put together a really terrific album of atmospheric songs composed of everything from reverberating guitar chords to shimmering electro-key effects, longing trumpet calls and dance beat drums, churning through a lot of different sounds but never straying far from a key aesthetic that seems all their own. 

Album of the Year: High Violet

Instead of a top 10 or 5 or 20 albums of the year, I thought I'd simplify and write about what is far and away, for me, the best album of the year: The National's High Violet.

It's an easy, stand away pick. I loved Arcade Fire's The Suburbs, but have not enjoyed listening to it as much as High Violet. No other record has spent nearly as much time on my iPod queue. I have returned to it again and again.

I wrote about the record when it first came out in May this year. Since that time, my enjoyment  of the record has not waned but I find I have a much broader view.

High Violet is more than a melancholy record of symphonic indie rock. Oh yeah, it has its melanholy moments, but it is also funny, smart and insightful. Like great records it's a snapshot of the times, a contemporary barometer of mood and culture. The album has my favorite lyrical moments on any record this year. Consider the connection to our times: