A Place To Bury Strangers
Exploding Head

<< They just make noise. Nothing more >>, this is my friend's terse judgement after the grueling hour of piercing distortions that A Place To Bury Strangers hurled at us, frying our brains and short-circuiting our synapses. It's not "just" noise, I vainly try to argue, already resigned as I remember our endless disputes on the subject, especially the way he dismissed my beloved My Bloody Valentine. For him, a musician with a punk background, an indie track must first of all have a "delicious chorus" and a nice melodic line. And the melody is there, if you look closely, only it's hidden beneath thick layers of ferocious guitar effects, covered (but never completely buried) by "controlled noise" which, to my ears, becomes a melody itself. I try in vain to explain to my friend that music for me is like women are for him: to please me, it has to screw my brain. And this New York trio screws the brain pretty well, provoking (me) with sudden and violent "brain orgasms" at each sonic explosion.

At the end of the concert, under the disapproving gaze of my unfortunate companion, I also buy their second and last album (Mute, 2009), whose name, "Exploding Head", couldn't be more fitting. As I listen to it, I think that, all in all, my friend might actually like it: on record, the devastating drones and cascades of fuzz and effects from guitarist Oliver Ackermann (an expert in the field, if it's true that he produces pedals of his own invention through the company Death by Audio (!), which boasts clients such as Trent Reznor and Thurston Moore) never manage to cover the vocal lines and the splendid dark-wave melodies, as often happens in live performances.
The influences, for those who haven't noticed, are clearly showcased: Jesus And Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine above all, but the material is handled with a personality and mastery that elevates the group beyond mere imitation.
The constant alternation and overlap of distinctly eighties melodies and knockout pop hooks (as in the rattling single In Your Heart, or the danceable Keep Slipping Away) with walls of feedback and sonic white-knuckle assaults (especially in the final orgy of I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart) finds its common thread in a dark and oppressive mood, a murky and unsettling atmosphere that accompanies and baffles the listener from the first note to the last.

Maybe it's just noise, but for a die-hard lover of shoegaze and the most dizzying psychedelia, this album is a godsend, as well as one of the best releases of the past year.

We want to be noisy, but we don't care about being "the noisiest". On our first record, they slapped on this description for promotion, and this curse will haunt us forever.  (Oliver Ackermann)