Familiars

The Antlers - Familiars
Critic Score
Based on 34 reviews
2014 Ratings: #125 / 1042
User Score
Based on 323 ratings
2014 Rank: #123
Liked by 10 people
June 17, 2014 / Release Date
LP / Format
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

91
A.V. Club

With this rewarding album, The Antlers take the band’s wounds and find glimmers of redemption and hope. 

90
PopMatters

Its lack of immediacy may make Familiars feel as out of time as reading verse poetry by a stream, but listeners who remain patient will likely end up enlightened and fulfilled.

90
Exclaim!

Familiars isn't a record that will immediately jump out and grab the listener, but one designed to coerce and shrewdly pique interest for another listen until they're eventually seduced. 

89
Paste
The album is ultimately the most cathartic and uplifting that songwriter Peter Silberman has crafted, indicating the demons he has long wrestled with may be tiring, if not nearing defeat.
85
The Line of Best Fit

The sumptuous manner in which Familiars presents its fabulously complex thematic approach is now, beyond any doubt, The Antlers’ trademark.

83
Consequence of Sound

You’d be hard-pressed to find anything within a stone’s throw of a radio hit among these nine tracks, but you will find a smooth, almost flawlessly cohesive whole.

80
Sputnikmusic

There's a completely fulfilling aura that surrounds Familiars – perhaps because it sounds nothing like a product of three musicians and more like a natural progression of something much grander.

80
The Independent
Charges of over-solemnity may be levelled its way, but only occasionally are the melodic and narrative threads lost to a focus on miasmic, brush-stroked atmospherics.
80
NOW Magazine
The ambitious arrangements that separate this band from their moody contemporaries can actually make the album feel too emotionally intense for everyday listening.
80
Mojo
Unwieldy on paper, it comes to life through odd, prickly phrases, but the music cuts deepest.
80
The Guardian
Familiars is no jazz odyssey. And despite the prevalence of mid-paced, piano-led ballads, it never enters Coldplay territory either.
80
Clash
This is an album that can make you weepy in the hazy blur of the wee small hours, and euphoric in the fuzzy afternoon sun.
80
Record Collector
Another big step for Silberman and required listening for any Americana aficionados.
80
Time Out London

The end result is immersive, emotionally involving and (eventually) even uplifting – against all the odds, a treat for long summer evenings.

80
DIY

Familiars' may not be as obviously fervently intense as their previous work but the truth is its emotional weapons have just been wrapped in a beautiful bow. 

80
Q Magazine
It's a record that demands you get to know it inside out.
80
No Ripcord

The melodies on Familiars might be the catchiest and most memorable the band has yet recorded. 

80
NME

Familiar, yes, but The Antlers still have some exciting tricks up their sleeves.

80
AllMusic

Interplay between bright but distant-sounding horn sections and soft, simmering instrumentation makes every song a lush, glowing affair, recorded with a somewhat detached production that never allows for any one element to come too much into focus. 

80
musicOMH

Poignant, lush and beautifully played, this is another predictably wonderful record from The Antlers.

78
Pitchfork

Against all odds, they’ve become one of the most interesting indie rock bands working, and the stately beauty of Familiars is the latest satisfying effort from a band that continues to reward those listeners who give them the attention their elegant, secretly weird music deserves.

75
Pretty Much Amazing

It all comes satisfyingly full circle, but Familiars mostly washes over you when it should be lunging for your heart.

70
Rolling Stone

Familiars finds the Antlers on a new, magnificent level of heavy songwriting.

70
The 405

Familiars is bleak and dreary, potentially at the cost of dragging in certain spots. However, those willing to spend enough time wrapped in its moody embrace will be rewarded with a quite beautiful experience.

60
Uncut
The addition of a horn section brings pleasing texture to the likes of "Hotel" and "Revisited," but it's rarely enough to lift The Antlers out of their willfully wounded torpor.
60
Under the Radar

This is beautiful music, but after so many nights of losing teeth, it all too often is without them. 

60
Drowned in Sound

The extremely subtle musical template that The Antlers have adopted here only avoids grating as a whole by the end of the record because the songs get stronger as the album goes on.

Plats
93

It may not have the same somber storyline as "Hospice", but "Familiars" makes up for it with everything else. Peter Silberman's falsetto has been fine-tuned to perfection on this record, and his thought-provoking songwriting is at peak form. Meanwhile, the production is beautifully-haunting, with great guitar and bass work and steady drum grooves. Overall, "Familiars" is The Antlers' most seductive work yet and I can't believe how much I'm LOVING this band!

Fav ... read more

cwmDJ
98

chilled out indie rock, incredible emotional engrossing lyrics, beautiful perfect vocals, tremendous trip hop style drums, great guitaring, amazing keyboards, tracks 3 to 7 all perfect exceptional songs, mesmeric and magnificent throughout

LZGray
60

It has its moments, the performances and compositions are some of the most exaggerated and grand they've ever been, and the emotions felt are really damn potent, which is something the band has always been very good at but on here they're on another level. However, this is TOO DAMN LONG. Everything here should have been cut by at least two minutes because as it stands, this is the most bloated Antlers album despite it only having one more track than their shortest album, ITAOTU. The melodies ... read more

DrakeBonna
72

Favourite Track:

Doppelganger

Raiksheen
75

Solid

FrancescoFranze
90

I discovered them thanks to the last album.
They're amazing and Silberman's voice is out of this world.

Fav songs: Palace, Intruders, Revisited, Parade, Surrender

Purchasing Familiars from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Palace
5:35
90
2Doppelgänger
7:03
89
3Hotel
4:59
82
4Intruders
5:23
80
5Director
6:12
81
6Revisited
7:41
78
7Parade
5:10
89
8Surrender
6:14
80
9Refuge
4:53
76
Total Length: 53 minutes
Comments
Sign in to comment
No one has said anything yet.


Added on: March 31, 2014