One of many modern bands creating a rock ‘n’ roll racket, Brooklyn-based trio A Place To Bury Strangers doesn’t sound so much like its specific name, but still hews to the idea closely. The band’s sonic fury is more along the lines of “Beating Up A Stranger,” and APTBS isn’t afraid to get literal about this in its songs.
Its new album is titled Exploding Head, which may refer to more than just the mind-blowing quality of the music. The record maintains themes similar to the group’s addictive, standout track from its debut — a self-titled affair serving as a compilation of previously released songs — called “To Fix The Gash In Your Head.” And singer/guitarist Oliver Ackermann doesn’t sound as if he’s kidding with lines such as “I want to beat you up/ I don’t care ’cause I won’t feel sorry,” paired with menacing amounts of guitar distortion and a breakneck beat.
The band’s second album continues the trend of the first, giving pop-structure songs a heavy dose of the shoegaze treatment. This entails a heap of noise that washes over the songs, as provided by Ackermann’s guitar and his homemade effects. He helps run Death By Audio, a guitar effects pedal manufacturer that specializes in the power of noise.
What APTBS succeeds on Exploding Head, more so than on its debut, is not allowing the wash of noise to diminish the fierce drums of Jay Space or the contributing fuzz of bassist Jono Mofo. The production quality is higher on Exploding Head than on the previous album, and this serves to highlight each component of the songs all the more. The noise isn’t even a blanket APTBS relies on; it’s a driving force — the hammer to the nail.
On “Deadbeat,” APTBS starts with a little modern boogie, only to suddenly fall into a storm of complementary distorted noise. Throughout the song, Ackermann sings a refrain that might be on the minds of a few troubled lovers: “I said, ‘What? What the f–––?’/ Don’t play with my heart.”
The influential bands most often cited in discussions of APTBS are My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Both these recently reunited bands know their way around a pop song, but they were both better known for their devotion to noise. From innocent white noise to the harsh ear-splitting, decibel-confounding feedback assaults, My Bloody Valentine has deafened more than a few music nerds.
APTBS takes cues from these and other bands — particularly by giving off a very 1980s-esque melody on this record. But the band avoids any kind of cut-and-paste method, offering original songs.
The title track is another staple of APTBS and its influences, offering a tight, almost noir-funk spin on the band’s sound. “In Your Heart” is a great representation of APTBS in terms of both its noise and as host to the downer lyrics typical to the band: “Don’t say that you’re nice to me/ All right / You’re lying,” Ackermann croons as only a shoegazer can.
Dubbed “the loudest band in New York” — and for good reason — APTBS continues to attack eardrums with Exploding Head, a more refined effort that demands repeat listens. The noise is wall-of-sound wonderful, and what’s even better is that the songs are great.
rhiggins@umdbk.com
RATING: 4 out of 5 stars
