In many ways “Palace” reminded me more of Hospice than any track did on Burst Apart. Perhaps not so much musically, since The Antlers long traded the heart-ripping, tormented angst felt on Hospice for luxurious, star-kissed textures. But on “Palace”, Silberman delivered a word-intense narrative with the same impassionate intensity as on many of Hospice best songs. It is the perfect The Antlers track; taking every brick and detail of both their previous worlds improved to perfection.
Once again, as also demonstrated on new single “Hotel”, Pete Silberman seems to dig at the very bottom of his emotional well. If the lyrics on Burst Apart where more distant than on Hospice, Silberman words are felt stronger and closer here. Themes of escapism and a sense of grief-stricken regret are looming on both “Palace” and “Hotel”. These various places are used as metaphors for what our perception tells us about their purpose. A “Palace” is something heavenly, a place you wish you could escape to live in, whilst a “Hotel” is used for passing through, something that is fleeting and perhaps even lonely; “In the hotel, I can’t remember how the past felt. I rent a blank room to stop living in my past self…and when I check out, it won’t matter how my name’s spelled, ‘cause when you bass through, you only keep what you can’t sell”.