A Place to Bury Strangers : Synthesizer
For over two decades, A Place to Bury Strangers have cultivated a signature sound that bridges noise rock with post-punk. And on their seventh album, they don’t make any drastic changes to their approach, though there is a slight shift in the sonic colors they drape their songs in. Album opener “Disgust” hits you with a driving tension, followed by the more spacious “Don’t Be Sorry,” with Oliver Ackermann delivering his trademark deadpan vocals in a stark baritone. There’s a creeping groove to the song, an early indication of an even more effective display of what the band is capable of as songwriters.
The group shifts to a stark, electronic pulse on “Fear of Transformation,” taking on a more abstract sonic atmosphere. “Join the Crowd” hovers on a jangling drone of guitars as Ackermann’s vocals sit back and mutter from the background. “Bad Idea” is a fitting title, riding a solid bass groove as it’s overcome by noise. “You Got Me” has more in common with Sonic Youth, whose sound undoubtedly was an influence on APTBS. Granted this band is darker than even the haunted, early Sonic Youth records, and more refined than punk. “Plastic Future,” meanwhile, captures an early ’80s vibe, the guitars maintaining a palm-muted groove but more chill than some of the sonic tantrums the group are capable of kicking up.
“Have You Ever Been in Love” is the darkest song on the album, rooted more in post-punk with some excellent guitar tones—they’re at their best when the band cranks them up to force them forward in the mix. Here they capture a perfect ’60s-influenced surf-rock reverb, and when it’s coupled with a stronger vocal presence, it’s not only a more accessible and less abrasive approach, but allows everything to click together more infectiously.
On closing track “Comfort Never Comes,” reverb-laden guitar rings out in the night. Yet the guitars are not as dominant in the mix as in the preceding songs, and the vocals feel like they placed the mic at the top of the basement stairs, as Ackermann sang from the darkness below. A Place to Bury Strangers have not lost their flair for experimenting to create varied moods. While Synthesizer isn’t as urgent in its brooding as past standouts like 2009’s Exploding Head, it delivers a solid set of their signature noise-gloom, glazed with a dreamy surf-rock melancholy.
Label: Dedstrange
Year: 2024
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A Place to Bury Strangers : Synthesizer
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