“I wish that I had known in that first minute we met
the unpayable debt
that I owed you”

'Kettering'

Thus begins the story told by the Antlers' heavy debut, "Hospice," about someone (not sure) suffering from something (unclear) irreversible, and who quickly and unexpectedly draws the narrator-nurse into her world as much more than a caretaker. The relationship - which may or may not involve the two moving in together and planning to marry before the disease consumes her again - is clearly a painful yet inseparable one, reflected perfectly by a band that shifts between whispering intimacy and cathartic noise with ease.

Definitely one of my faves of the year and I think undeniable to anyone that likes a little Shakespearean drama in their tunes.