Review Summary: "Some patients can't be saved, but that burden's not on you...”
There is a reason I tend to shy away from albums like Hospice. Albums like this are meant to be purely artistic without much thought to the enjoyment of the listener. At its core, Hospice is first and foremost a purely literary experience; Its musical presentation is more of an ambient tone setter than a centerpiece.
That said, the story Hospice does decide to tell is absolutely fantastic, detailing the fractured and hostile relationship between a dying patient, and the doctor who is falling in love with her and dedicates himself to her care despite her descent into violent madness. Every single lyric on the album, from cover to cover, magnificently exposes the crumbling sanity of the narrator as he watches his patient not only descend to death, but begin to burst into unbridled fits of rage when he tries his best to comfort and care for her. The first listen to this album is an absolutely surreal experience. The music builds the background of this claustrophobic hospital room and the looming procession towards death immaculately.
The album progresses more like an artistic, conceptual film than an album of songs that are meant to be enjoyed. And while this makes for an incredible experience, I can’t help feeling that it’s a detriment to my enjoyment as a whole. The tracks all serve the distinct purpose of telling this story, but tend to leave musical appeal to the wayside. This is not to say the music is bad, quite the opposite actually, but it is almost purely built on atmosphere rather than the properties of your typical pop album. Most of the songs are hookless. Most of the songs have almost indistinguishable instruments. The vocals are sometimes unintelligible.
Aside from the songs that are beautiful, moving, and intense in terms of lyrics and music (“Sylvia”, “Wake”, “Epilogue”, “Bear”), there are a number of them that lead to bizarre dead ends. “Thirteen” enters with a lifeless drone and continues to be lifeless up until the vocals enter, and the opener “Kettering” meanders completely until the following track bursts into life one again.
That’s the give and take of this album’s format. There are a lot of dull moments, but they make the climactic moments, like the desperate begging at the end of “Wake” or the furious strumming of “Epilogue” all the more impactful.
Grade: B+
