Familiars
Studio album by
The Antlers
ReleasedJune 17, 2014
Recorded2013–2014
StudioAntlercorp Studios
(Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length53:15
LanguageEnglish
Label
ProducerThe Antlers
The Antlers chronology
Undersea
(2012)		 Familiars
(2014)		 Green to Gold
(2021)
Singles from Familiars
  1. "Palace"
    Released: March 31, 2014
  2. "Hotel"
    Released: May 5, 2014

Familiars is the fifth studio album by American indie rock group The Antlers. It was released on June 16, 2014, by Transgressive Records in the United Kingdom and on June 17, 2014, by ANTI- in the United States.[1]

The album was preceded by the singles "Palace" and "Hotel".

Writing and composition

In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Silberman explained the concept of Familiars stating, "I was trying to understand attachment in this record. We get attached to our memories, to our ideas of who we are, of who other people are. There's a buildup of thoughts about something that keeps you from seeing it as it truly is. I've been trying to clear away as much attachment as possible in the way that I think and act. Part of that is revisiting the past and letting go of things that I've unknowingly held on to for a long time. Most of the time you don't even realize you're holding onto something, it's just a quiet whisper in the back. We're very good at distracting ourselves, which is a way of escaping, but there's no real way to escape yourself in the end. The more you try to escape yourself the more you'll be hideously confronted by whatever you're running away from, so I think it's better to face it head on."[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The A.V. ClubA−[5]
Consequence of SoundB+[6]
Drowned in Sound6/10[7]
Exclaim!9/10[8]
The Guardian[9]
Mojo[10]
musicOMH[11]
NME8/10[12]
Paste8.9/10[13]
Pitchfork7.8/10[14]
PopMatters[15]
Q[16]
Rolling Stone[17]

Familiars received wide acclaim from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from music critics, the album received an average score of 82, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 27 reviews.[3] Pitchfork Media gave the album a 7.8 rating, indicating "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."[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Silberman

No.TitleLength
1."Palace"5:38
2."Doppelgänger"7:05
3."Hotel"5:01
4."Intruders"5:25
5."Director"6:14
6."Revisited"7:42
7."Parade"5:12
8."Surrender"6:16
9."Refuge"4:57
Total length:53:15

Release history

Country Date Label Format
United Kingdom June 16, 2014 Transgressive Records CD
LP
Digital Download
United States June 17, 2014 ANTI- CD
LP
Digital Download

Personnel

The Antlers
  • Peter Silberman – vocals, guitar
  • Darby Cicci - trumpet, upright/electric bass, piano, rhodes, synths, organ, vocals
  • Michael Lerner – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
  • Brent Arnold – cello (tracks 2, 6, 9)
  • Andrew Dunn – trombone (tracks 2, 9)
  • Timmy Mislock – guitar (tracks 5, 6)
  • Jon Natchez – trombone (tracks 4, 6, 8), euphonium, tuba, bari/tenor sax

References

  1. ↑ "The Antlers Announce New Album". Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Update: The Antlers". Retrieved 05 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Familiars". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Familiars – The Antlers". AllMusic. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "On the stunning Familiars, The Antlers battle with the past". The A.V. Club. 17 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Flynn, Katherine (19 June 2014). "Album Review: The Antlers - Familiars". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Bland, Benjamin. The Antlers - Familiars Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned In Sound. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Bobkin, Matt (13 June 2014). "The Antlers - Familiars". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Dennis, Jon. The Antlers: Familiars – review. The Guardian. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Familiars by the Antlers". Metacritic.
  11. ↑ Murphy, John. The Antlers - Familiars. musicOMH 16 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - The Antlers – 'Familiars'". Nme.Com. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Cosores, Philip (24 June 2014). "The Antlers: Familiars: Music Reviews". Paste. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  14. 1 2 Fitzmaurice, Larry. The Antlers: Familiars. Pitchfork Media. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Schurr, Maria. The Antlers: Familiars. PopMatters. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Familiars by the Antlers". Metacritic.
  17. ↑ Ayers, Mike. The Antlers: Familiars. Rolling Stone. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 04 May 2015.
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