The Antlers: Undersea

After listening to Hospice the first time, I thought The Antlers were a revelation.  It was chilling, depressing, cathartic, and catchy all at the same time.  The album takes you through the experiences of a caregiver at a hospice who tends to a loved one dying of cancer, and it's absolutely devastating.

So, with that kind of track record, I preordered their second album, Burst Apart.  And while it had some high moments ("Parentheses" is a cool groove, "Putting The Dog To Sleep" has a sweet and honest message, and "Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out" is the strongest song on the whole album), it was somewhat of a letdown.  I figured that I would wait for reviews for the next album, Undersea, instead of blindly preordering it on faith (I had bad luck with preorders last year, having also bought Radiohead's The King of Limbs and Lupe Fiasco's Lasers sight-unseen).

Well, since I had "liked" The Antlers on Facebook (again, on the strength of Hospice), they sent me a notification that Undersea was available for streaming on their Facebook page (hopefully that link will work for all of you).  I had some homework to do last night, so I figured I would put it on, and see if they had returned to form.

In three words:  They did not.

It's as though the guys thought that "Rolled Together" was the high point of Burst Apart, and decided to craft the entire album in the same style.  It's aggressively boring.  I know this because, at one point, the droning and monotony actually drew me out of my precalculus, and made me angry that I was listening to it.  But the rest of the album was so unremarkable that it apparently started over while I was working, and I had listened to two-thirds of the album for a second time, without realizing it.

Antlers, you're not Radiohead.  You will never produce a Kid A, so go back to using guitars and being catchy and cathartic.  You can write about different topics; lord knows I wouldn't want you to have to go through something similar to whatever inspired Hospice for a second time, just to give me another classic album.  Just get back to writing great music.  The rest will fall into place.

On a brighter note, I've heard some of The Mountain Goats' new stuff, and it is excellent.

The New Red Menace Exposed! Part 3: Terror in the Heartland!

Check out parts one and two of the series if you like freedom.

THERE IT IS.  A hot bowl of borscht, looking for all the world like it wants to bite me.  The enemy incarnate, on our very own shores.  If ever I was going to strike a blow for the U.S. of A., this was the time.

THE LOCATION:  Dvin Restaurant on Big Bend Blvd, St. Louis.

MISSION:  Expose treasonous, beet-based soups for the communist, disgusting scourge that they are.

RESULT:  ...

total failure.

Disappointingly, I cannot disparage the borscht at Dvin to any degree.  It was delicious.  Instead of being a beet soup, it was actually a multi-vegetable broth comprised principally of tomatoes, with beets playing a minor role as sweetener.  The dish itself was completely vegetarian, with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and I think zucchini providing the soup's heartiness.  The bread was really good, too.  Like a top-notch version of naan.

But my chance for redemption came when the entree was served!  Varenyky???  That doesn't sound like American Food (you capitalize 'food' in America) to me.  Dumplings filled with creamy, delicious mashed potatoes?? Where I come from (you know, AMERICA??) we make our dumplings with chicken in 'em.  Or something.

And what is that in the middle?  Russian relish?  There would be no 'relishing' this offense, comrade.  I think we all know too well where this is headed (hint: it's Moscow).  Time for Josh to prove. His. Point.

...But the truth is that the varenyky was almost as delicious as the borscht.  A much more delicate flavor, which on first impression seems bland, the potatoes and dill provide a thick 'mouth-feel' on the back of the palette.  The Russian relish (which was labeled as stewed cabbage, probably a better descriptor) was even excellent.  The whole dish was surprisingly filling, too, and after the borscht, I was only able to finish half of it.

Even the waitress (a mother-daughter team runs the restaurant, and the daughter is the waitress) was friendly, attentive, and informative.

But I haven't lost hope!  Somewhere, there is an insidious culinary threat to our way of life, and I will not rest until I have brought it down.  Stay vigilant, brothers and sisters, else we allow our country to become the worst of all nationalities:  Multi-National.

Burgers 'N' Borscht? Alan Moore shares my terror

Last image is from Watchmen.  Original story by Alan More, art by Dave Gibbons.  Rights reserved by DC Comics.