I'm pretty partial to brevity, when done correctly (that being said, I'm not very good at it, my blog entries are sure to be long, rambling, and moderately stream of consciousness). A proper full length album's tracklisting traditionally hovers in the range of 10-12 songs, and I find it to be a huge show of confidence when a band releases an LP with a slim track count. Albums like Slint's Spiderland and Japandroids' Post-Nothing avoid bloated running times and throwaway tracks; they're both under 40 minutes long and boast 6 and 8 tracks respectively, and are better for it.
Richmond, Virgina's Antlers released a 22 minute long LP in 2007 that has stayed with me since I first picked it up on vinyl and cassette (viva la dead formats ya'll) two years ago at a MACRoCK, a music festival in Harrisonburg, VA.
Antlers was on my radar long before a similarly named Brooklyn buzzband rolled onto the scene. The Antlers' Hospice never really did much for me, and it'd be in your best interest to forget I even mentioned them. Antlers (no "The") packs countless riffs, several group singalongs, and multiple mid-song tempo changes into an 8-track LP that clocks in at just over 22 minutes. Also of note is that every song is named after a type of tree (Black Walnut, Sequoia, Bur Oak, etc.).
Antlers (the album) is densely layered and frequently math-y without being overbearing or obnoxious on either count. An annoying way of describing it would be if Fang Island taught kindergarten rather than Classic Rock 101.
Antlers toured the East Coast with the equally excellent Snack Truck (who may be covered here later) earlier this summer. As of right now, it looks like the band is in a state of transition; their bassist recently left the band to move to North Carolina and they appear to be taking some time off to adjust their lineup.
