Familiars

On their fifth album, the Antlers have edged away almost completely from noisy catharsis (see their gripping concept record Hospice) and toward an engulfing, pillow-like mixture of slowcore, soul, ambient, and post-rock. This is smooth, blissful, wintry stuff, kept potent by some very tasteful horns and frontman Peter Silberman’s soaring, emotionally riven vocals. All songs are slow and long, and most have extended ambient codas. Favorites: 1, 6, 8, 9. FCC WARNING: 3, 4, 7.

1. *(5:36)—Angelic, straightforward, exultant. So, so freaking beautiful.
2. (7:04)—Sad torch song. Noir intro. Cruises along, never peaks.
3. (4:59)—FCC (multiple f***s). Soulful, sexy. Heavier backbeat on this one.
4. (5:24)—FCC (f***). Medium-slow, relatively upbeat, a bit funky.
5. (6:13)—Stately, shimmery lullaby. Builds to a blissful climax.
6. *(7:41)—Jazzy, toward balladry. Dramatic vocal performance.
7. (5:11)—FCC (f***). Starts subdued, catchy, taut. Changes key, builds.
8. *(6:15)—Bright, big, major key, a kind of soft joy shining through and thawing everything out.
9. *(4:56)—Warmer, melancholy. Struts a little. Horns get punchy in the second half.