The magical monthly segment where I briefly touch down on a gauntlet of albums I didn't get a chance to review this past month. These are just my short, straightforward, passionate, biased opinions.
a place to bury strangers
A Place To Bury Strangers - "Straight"
New TracksCommentNew York's A Place To Bury Strangers has announced a new album for 2015, and they just dropped the first single, and it's titled "Straight." This is one of the most ferocious noise rock bands on the East Coast, and they live up to that reputation with rumbling distortion, squawking guitar feedback, and a driving bassline.
While the band's last record seemed a little distant and underwhelming, this new single sound up close and personal, which is just the way I like it.
Look for the new A Place To Bury Strangers album, Transfixation, via Dead Oceans on February 17th.
A Place to Bury Strangers- "You Are the One"
New TracksComment[audio:http://www.scjag.com/mp3/do/youaretheone.mp3] OK, I'll admit it, I haven't given Place to Bury Strangers' new album, Worship, an honest chance yet. Honestly, it's got a lot to do with me being lukewarm on the band's last EP; however, I'm starting to get a better grip of where the band has been headed since the 2009 album Exploding Head.
Simply put, Exploding Head was an aural assault, but mostly one of volume. That album didn't exactly sit well with me the year it came out, but maybe I'm better equipped these days to sit through the album and appreciate its overblown, suffocating compression.
As far as this new album goes, it's nowhere near as heavy or overpowering, but it's not a sign of weakness. Rather than attempting to crush all who listen, A Place to Bury Strangers works to bring some new guitar effects into the mix. There's quite a bit of exploration into different distortion and feedback textures, too. I really get the sense that they're tinkering with new territory in some of these tracks. Just listen to some of the strange sounds swirling around the track streaming above, "You Are the One." Of course, the song itself is good. Very dark, moody, spacious. Exactly the kind of thing A Place to Bury Strangers' experimentations sound perfect for. Look for this album now on Dead Oceans.
A Place To Bury Strangers- Onwards To The Wall
ReviewsCommentOn A Place To Bury Strangers' latest EP, the New York Band delivers roughly the same style of noise-laden post-punk they usually do--except, to me, there's just less of an impact this time around.
WATCH THE REVIEW
A Place to Bury Strangers- "So Far Away"
New TracksCommentWith a bassline that reminds me of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," the New York shoegaze/post-punk/noise rock band A Place To Bury Strangers has dropped a track from its forthcoming EP, Onwards to the Wall. Look for this to get a Feb. 7th release via Dead Oceans.
Now, I reviewed this band's previous album years ago. I feel like that LP had some great sounds, but really didn't have the variation I wanted to make the whole thing worth revisiting. But if every song on this EP is as varied as "So Far Away," then that shouldn't be a problem. APTBS manages to keep their pummeling sound while working in some guitar leads, synths, and tambourine. It's kinda like a shoegaze version of "Paint It Black" or something. Strange and loveable. Looking forward to hearing the rest of this baby.
EP track listing: 1. I Lost You 2. So Far Away 3. Onwards To The Wall 4. Nothing Will Surprise Me 5. Drill It Up