The opening track to The Antlers‘ fifth studio album Familiars introduces several recurring themes and motifs that are revisited throughout the album.

While many tracks on the album features the signature emotional weight and despair present in their earlier work, “Palace” offers a glimpse of hope both lyrically and musically. The key of the song is A Major, and unlike earlier songs that juxtaposed major key composition with somber lyrics, “Palace” presents a sincere, albeit reserved, hope for an optimistic reconciliation with oneself’s struggles and history.