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A Place to Bury Strangers

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"Total Sonic Annihilation"

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Website: http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/

Bio: 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 / ... (more) 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" "I love the interplay and contrasts between something that's pretty and something that's scary," explains Ackerman. "Taking listeners to different places—even in one song - is so important, whether it makes them cry or pissed off. If you listen closely, some of the riffs on this record are actually like Ramones songs or '60s bubblegum pop." While Phil Spector's Wall of Sound approach makes its presence known in the seared surf guitar lead of "Deadbeat" and the hazy harmonies of "Smile When You Smile," Exploding Head's recurring hey-ho-let's-go vibe stems in part from MOFO, Jono and Jay’s previous project, a perfect fit for the already-in-progress A Place To Bury Strangers, a power trio founded by Ackermann soon after the frontman moved from Virginia to Brooklyn in 2003. (less)