A Place to Bury Strangers had a simple goal for their first proper studio album, the exquisitely-damaged Exploding Head: "The original idea," says vocalist / guitarist Oliver Ackermann, "was to create the craziest, most fucked-up recording ever." How crazy, you ask? Enough to justify that Cronenberg-channeling title, for one, as dollops of distortion and flecks of feedback deliver enough controlled chaos to derail a turntable. And if vinyl isn't your thing, well, let's just say you'll be checking the levels on your living room stereo from the second "It Is Nothing" sucks everyone in earshot through a vortex of groove-locked rhythms (hammered out by drummer Jay Space and bassist Jono MOFO) and back-spun power chords. Pain as pleasure, if you will, a beautiful feeling that's maintained for 43 mesmerizing minutes, from the paranoid android pop of "In Your Heart" and gorgeous gate-crashing melodies of "Keep Slipping Away" to the Chinese water torture chords of "Lost Feeling" and sputtering percussion of "Everything Always Goes Wrong" Not to mention the apocalypse now effects of "Ego Death" the sinewy, slightly sinister overtones of the title track, and the firework finale flare-ups of "I Lived My Life To Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart". A Place to Bury Strangers has an illustrious touring history including supporting Nine Inch Nails at arenas, large venue tour with MGMT in Europe a full US tour with Holy Fuck and shows with some of their heroes and influences including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Dandy Warhols and Chapterhouse. They have been touring non stop since the release of Exploding Head, doing three full scale US tours of the US and UK/Europe including shows with the Big Pink, Japandroids, Darker My Love and Dead Combo. They are now hard at work on the follow up to Exploding Head with an eye toward a Spring 20011 Release. A Place To Bury Strangers have often been called "the loudest band in New York". This may very well be the case, but unlike much so-called "loud" rock and roll that's out there, APTBS is not loud simply for the sake of it. The sonically overdriven sound they've accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered by an unbridled passion that's clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. A Place To Bury Strangers does not so much play songs as allow them to pour out. They are songs about longing, heartbreak and confusion played extremely well and at a passionately loud volume...
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