- It’s been a hot minute since we’ve heard from A Place To Bury Strangers. We were treated to a smattering of EP releases throughout the pandemic years since their last studio album, Pinned, in 2018, and believe you me, the wait is worth your while. Not only is the album art especially wonderful, but these Brooklyn based noise rockers waste no time in introducing you into their shoegazey, space rocky, and all together incredibly loud world.
All things considered, this would be a recommended album for those who have never come across the band before. Their brand of revived ‘80's new wave/post-punk worship really hits its stride here. The band manage to strike a nice balance on the ‘soft/loud/soft/loud’ playbook in their songs in this album. Let’s See Each Other opens with a lovely bassline that chugs along relentlessly throughout the entire song. It’s one of those songs that you just instantly find yourself nodding your head to, in true shoegaze fashion. The bridge opens us up to a psych-fuelled, delay-driven piece, all the while keeping that tight bassline quietly tucked away in the background, before jerking us back to reality with a paradoxically calm, yet chaotic guitar playing which fans of bands like Australia’s own Tropical Fuck Storm or American heavyweights in the noise rock scene, The Armed –whose 2021 release Ultrapop really must be listened to by all fans of good music– might resonate with.
As I said earlier, if you haven’t heard of these guys before –now replete with a fresh band line-up too– then I would easily recommend this latest opus being the starting point of your journey, and then perhaps maybe explore their self-titled record, or if you’re really up for some fun, check out their live sets. KEXP and SXSW have some truly wonderful videos on their YouTube channels to get a good taster of what they’re like.
Speaking of which, it is worthwhile noting, for music video enthusiasts, this album has a lot of its songs on YouTube for your viewing pleasure, including, of course, Let’s See Each Other. It may be a little too early to start heaping hyperbolic praise on this release, but it is my sincere opinion that Let’s See Each Other is one of the A Place To Bury Stranger’s strongest anthems, and indeed See Through You is a welcomed addition to their already impressive catalogue of albums and EPs. The band has carved out their own corner in the contemporary music space, with a sound that is uniquely theirs, all the while clearly showing its love of the classics from which a lot of their sound of born. Their genesis may be in bands and sonic attitude from decades gone, but A Place To Bury Strangers manages to keep every release fresh and exciting, which can be a difficult challenge, however it's one they have mastered yet again with this album.
- Arthur Henden.