Cargo Records

A Place To Bury Strangers

These are songs about longing, heartbreak and confusion played extremely well and at a passionately loud volume.


After wowing at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival early this year (where NME declared them one of their top ten bands of the festival), they found themselves England’s hottest ticket. Suddenly the “loudest band in NYC”, were the most wanted band in London. Back home in the States, the band will spend the end of the summer supporting Nine Inch Nails and The Dandy Warhols across America, and so their creation of what seemed like a somewhat inaccessible aural attack of white noise has become the freshest sound on the circuit. The American imported version of the album started doing the rounds – fans will be pleased to note that in the UK, we are privy to five extra tracks not featured on the American album. Plus the whole thing has been re-mastered. While plenty of comparisons to an array of esteemed bands have been drawn up to A Place to Bury Strangers, there is no doubt that the reverberating sound of feedback, plus the deliberately primal ring of King Kong warring with Godzilla is unmistakably their own.

While there are obvious reference points: Pornography-era Cure, early Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and pre-1990s Jesus and Mary Chain, the sound is all their own, in part due to singer/guitarist Oliver Ackermann's day job of building custom guitar pedals (see deathbyaudio.net). Coupled with the solid bass of Jono Mofo and the relentless drumming of Jay Space, the APTBS team is a force to reckon with.

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.