Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	A−
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Irish Times
NME	8/10
Pitchfork	8.5/10
Q
Spin	7/10
Uncut

Hospice is the third studio album by American indie rock band The Antlers, and their first concept album. It was initially self-distributed by the band in March 2009, and was eventually remastered and re-released once they signed to Frenchkiss Records in August of the same year.

Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman's traumas, fears, and disease. Frontman Peter Silberman has been reluctant to divulge explicit details regarding the meaning of the record, and the extent to which it is autobiographical. Silberman has described it as the story of an emotionally abusive relationship.

The album was released to critical acclaim. Pitchfork endorsed the re-release of Hospice with their "Best New Music" stamp.NPR Music placed the album at number one on their list of the top ten albums of early 2009. At the end of the year, Pitchfork placed it number 37 on their list of the best albums of 2009, praising its "power to emotionally destroy listeners."Beats Per Minute named it the best album of 2009, while Rhapsody deemed it the 24th best album of 2009.

As of October 2009 it has sold 13,000 copies in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The first single was "Bear" in April 2009 to promote the self-released version of Hospice. "Two" was the first single released commercially as a digital download in June 2009. The song's music video features a combination of photography and cutout animation, and was directed by Ethan Segal and Albert Thrower. In the United Kingdom, "Bear" was released on 7″ vinyl on November 16, 2009, featuring an exclusive remix of "Bear" by Darby Cicci on the B-side. Additionally, an exclusive live recording of "Sylvia" at The Orchard in New York City was released as a download on November 17, 2009. "Sylvia" was issued as the third proper single on March 22, 2010. A music video was produced for the song, directed by Trey Hock, and premiered on the IFC's website on April 15, 2010. The song "Kettering" was featured in the following shows and films: Chuck (season 3, episode 13), Sense8 (season 1, episode 1), The 100 (season 1, episode 10), indie film Camp X-Ray, "Offspring" (season 1, episode 5), and Fear the Walking Dead (season 1, episode 6).

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