What makes Impermanence by Peter Silberman notable?

Pitchfork reviewed Impermanence as a solo departure from Silberman’s work with the Antlers, bringing critical attention to its unusually restrained scale. Its long passages of near-silence make his experience of hearing loss part of the album’s musical context rather than just its backstory. Released in 2017, Impermanence was Peter Silberman’s first solo album after leading the Antlers through records including Hospice and Familiars. Following a hearing impairment and a move away from New York City, he made a quieter record attentive to the space around each sound.

How many songs are on Impermanence?

Impermanence has 6 tracks, running approximately 36 minutes.

Impermanence

Peter Silberman · 2017

36 min · 6 tracks

Silberman’s voice hovers over spare guitar and slow-building drones, leaving silence as exposed as the melodies.

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Top tracks — play these first

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Karuna — The extended opener establishes the album’s patient pace, letting Silberman’s voice and sparse instrumental sounds emerge gradually from quiet.
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New York — A concise song amid longer pieces, it gives the album’s departure from city life a direct personal frame.
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Gone Beyond — Its long form gives Silberman room to stretch small musical gestures across a slowly shifting atmosphere.
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Impermanence — The closing title track brings the record back to a compact song form, ending its spacious journey on an intimate scale.

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

70 /100

Treeline

Higher than 50% of albums we've rated

The album combines ambient and folk elements with thoughtful arrangements, creating a cohesive listening experience.

What we noticed

The album opens with a soft, layered vocal harmony that gradually builds in intensity over the first two tracks.
Each track features a consistent use of ambient instrumentation, often blending acoustic and electronic elements seamlessly.
The final track includes a lengthy instrumental outro that fades out slowly, creating a sense of closure.

Composition 25% of the score: 6/10
Craft 20% of the score: 7/10
Durability 25% of the score: 6/10
Distinctiveness 18% of the score: 7/10
Sequencing 12% of the score: 8/10

Influence 2/10

Little footprint beyond its audience. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

1 Karuna 8:48
2 New York 3:28
3 Gone Beyond 8:18
4 Maya 5:12
5 Ahimsa 6:57
6 Impermanence 3:19

What to play next

Full Peter Silberman discography Artists like Peter Silberman

Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata