Over the summer, I fell in love with two songs by The Antlers off their debut LP, Hospice. Those songs were “Bear” and “Two”. Mysterious drones and pleasant horn breaks fronted by vocals that lapse into momentary angst with unique harmonies. That’s what had me sold on “Bear” by this band. “Two”, on the other hand, kicked off with that light strum and high-pitched falsetto vocals that, while distinctly different from the other track, still grabbed me as a listener. It just seemed too perfect. Well over the summer the crew visited Rock Island, IL, the home of Daytrotter, to record a session. And we, the public, finally have access to the resulting songs.

So I have a reason to write about this great band. No, “Bear” isn’t on the list, but they did record “Two” along with “Shiva” and “Kettering” off Hospice, and “Cold War” off Cold War EP. “Two” is made over using piano instead of guitar or uke, or whatever stringed instrument they used on Hospice. That’s what makes Daytrotter so special; the bands they record adjust songs to fit something new and exciting – the live take on vintage instruments. And because of the limitations of not being able to use their own instruments, what they create is almost always as good, if not better, than their studio recordings. Do you get that with The Antlers? Absolutely.

Check out the session and hear for yourself. Here’s the link: The Antlers on Daytrotter. Get prepared to be blown away. Seriously.

The Antlers: Bear [mp3] (off Hospice)

This bit of news may be slightly old, as the session went up last week, but I’m just now catching up on my Daytrotter-ing and it seemed fitting. Coincidence: earlier this month I was scrounging around on eBay looking to see how much that vinyl copy of Eudora would go for (just an estimate, not because I want to sell it – don’t you do that will your records too?), and I wondered if The Get Up Kids would give us anything new soon. Of course, they regrouped and played a live set in Lawrence last March, and this Daytrotter session is our first peek at some of the new tunes they put together over the summer.

Sure, this may coincide with the 10th Anniversary of Something To Write Home About, out now on Vagrant Records. After all, the session does include a rendition of “I’m A Loner Dottie, A Rebel”. Among the new tunes are “Sharon Stone” and “Your Petty Pretty Things”, but the song that takes the cake, in my opinion, is “Overdue”. They say what I was thinking in the liner notes:

This is one of my favorite songs we’ve ever written. We didn’t really play it very often back in the day so I’m glad to we’re bringing it back. I like the way the acoustic guitar sounds through the amp. Jim really likes his own guitar playing. He’s a big fan.

The song originally appeared on On A Wire. This song takes me back; it, too, was one of my favorites from The Get Up Kids. Yeah, I’m digging the new tunes, and I’m pretty damn excited they’re coming back.

Head over to Daytrotter to check out The Get Up Kids’ session. It’s well worth it.