The Antlers: YES, Manchester – Live Review

The Antlers | Julie Odell
YES, Manchester
9th March 2026

The Brooklyn art rock veterans bring moving minimalism to The Pink Room in Manchester

When we think about the direction that The Antlers have gone in over the last decade, we have to wonder how much of it was by necessity, and how much by design. The Brooklyn outfit are one of the most critically acclaimed indie rock outfits of the 21st century and whilst theirs has always been a delicate sound, it took on a new fragility after frontman Peter Silberman’s solo record, Impermanence, in 2017.

The minimalist arrangements that defined that album were enforced by the fact that the singer had been diagnosed with a number of ear conditions that threatened his long-term hearing; since, the work he’s done with The Antlers has followed suit, both on 2021’s rustic Green to Gold and last year’s superb, subtly experimental Blight. It is worth mentioning, too, that the band are a two-piece these days, just Silberman and drummer Michael Lerner, meaning the brass swells of old are off the table; this was always going to be a more stripped-back set than, say, their full-band gig on Halloween 2014 around the corner at The Ritz, or their ten-year anniversary celebration of second album Hospice across the road at the Dancehouse in 2019.

Support tonight is from Julie Odell, who was last in Manchester supporting Will Sheff, frontman of recent Antlers tourmates Okkervil River, at The Deaf Institute in 2023. She has not, as the title of her latest EP suggests, done a Disappearing Act, and her songs remain ones of handsome yearning, her deceptively soft voice underpinned by intricate, finger-picked guitar that recalls Nick Drake or, more recently, Adrianne Lenker.

Late, she’ll guest on a handful of Antlers tracks, helping to flesh out an arrangement that usually involves Silberman flitting between guitar and keys and Lerner holding things down with soft percussion. Whilst the lack of a wider live band deprives the group of colour and punctuation on both the looser songs (there are a number from 2014’s criminally underrated Familiars) and the denser ones (a gorgeous No Widows, from 2011’s Burst Apart, is a case in point), their ultimate weapon remains Silberman’s vocals; they are utterly transfixing, with early track Palace a perfect showcase for his falsetto, as well as the grittier, more impassioned side of his singing.

For long-time fans, a particular highlight arrives when Silberman takes a seat at the keyboard for a three-song suite plucked from Hospice, the heart-rending concept album that many still consider the group’s finest hour; musically different but thematically united, Kettering, Sylvia and Two all draw parallels between a doomed relationship and terminal illness.

They save the best for late on, though; first, an impassioned take on Burst Apart’s closer, Putting the Dog to Sleep, to round out the main set, before Odell joins them during the encore for the final song of the evening, Ahimsa. Named after the ancient Indian principle of pacifism, Silberman acknowledges that its message is more important than ever in turbulent times. His cooed vocals, which echo the line “no violence today” over and over again, are stunning. They operate with fewer members and instruments these days, but The Antlers remain a band with heart in abundance.

~

The Antlers can be found at their Facebook | Instagram | website

Words by Joe Goggins: find him on X here

Photos by Klara Weiss: find her on Instagram here