Review Summary: I'm not going to die alone.
Ever seen “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind?" I generally hate romantic comedies, with their vomit inducing dialogue, and their screw-me-sideways identical plot structures. But, Eternal Sunshine is different. Maybe it is just because of Jim Carrey’s cute puppy-dog look, and Kate Winslet's vibrant ever changing dyed hair. Maybe it’s how adorably flawed the relationship was, that inevitable feeling that no matter how obvious it was that the two are just heading for another tragic break-up, they were always meant to be with each other anyway. Or perhaps it’s that ingenious 25 minutes inside Carrey’s brain during the operation, which involves him slitting his own throat, masturbating, and getting smothered to death by a 5 year old version of his used-be-girlfriend, all which manages to be completely depressing yet adorable. I contend, though, that what really sets the film apart is that it’s a perfect summation of everyday beauty and tragedy wrapped in a surrealistic package, something that is as entertaining as it is relatable. An observation that makes it directly relatable to
Burst Apart, indie rock’s version of Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind.
Now I understand that
Burst Apart is not a concept album, nor is it in anyway a continuation of Hospice, but if Peter Silberman and Sylvia Plath both had their memories erased (like Jim and Kate), and Sylvia lost the cancer, a continuation is exactly what you would get. If anything,
Burst Apart is
Hospice wrapped in everyday events, a tragedy where nothing fantastic is really going to happen. Peter is still as masochistic as ever. (“But I like you inside, so you can push me right now”.) And Sylvia is still the abusive girlfriend she has always been (“Every time we speak you are spitting in my mouth”). Regardless of whether this is officially a concept album, the same characters that occupied
Hospice occupy
Burst Apart as well, but there is something different you notice about them in
Burst Apart…you actually like the two together.
Maybe that is why there is something strangely beautiful about
Burst Apart. Unlike before, The Antlers are willing to add a slight inner layer of optimism. The large variety of melodies and sonic variations in the album is a refreshing step for the group. A development that allows the band to explore many different subtexts of emotions in this album, which, while not making it an emotional jackhammer like it’s predecessor, does manage to paint a vibrant and more colorful landscape. Simply put, everything isn’t all bad. Sure, the misery is here, particularly in “Putting The Dog To Sleep” and “Hounds”, but it’s in the form of an argument, not of a femur breaking in half. Yet every other spectrum of this beautiful yet tragic relationship is portrayed as well. "French Exit", an almost playful excursion, could easily represent the moment the couple first met on the beach. The seductive 1950's style jazzy interlude "Tiptoe" could easily be a soundtrack for the romantic moments in the middle of the night. And the breathtaking "Corsicana" is an ideal soundtrack for that awe inducing moment where they are both staring into space, thinking of each other. The album represents not just the heartbreak, but the millions of other fragile yet complex twisted threads of the typical relationship, making it something entirely relatable.
Eternal Sunshine ends rather abruptly; where Kate Winslet's realistically complains that their relationship is just going to fail again, because she’s going to feel trapped, and Jim Carrey’s going to feel bored. In response, Jim Carey just looks at her and says “that’s OK.” It’s a simple statement of hope that the movie ends on, which while we all know that the relationship is
fucked, it gives enough hope to make the situation infinitely brighter. Just like Eternal Sunshine, that slight amount of hope is all
Burst Apart needs. Indeed when Pete Silberman admits in the end that “I’m not going to die alone-I don’t think so” It isn’t much, but it’s enough. That’s why
Burst Apart is the ideal follow-up, because it isn’t the hopeless endeavor that Hospice was, but instead it’s filled with hope, which while dim, is refreshing. And while brimming with tragedies, they’re the tragedies that we all have gone through and survived, instead of the unconquerable summits of
Hospice. And, hell, Pete And Sylvia’s relationship will never last in this album either. But, regardless, we’ll sure enjoy watching them, because they were made for each other, despite the fact that they’re destined to burst apart.
