CMJ Preview: A Place To Bury Strangers (With VIDEO)
You may have noticed A Place To Bury Strangers has been getting a lot of attention lately. Pitchfork gave their new album a glowing review and has been featuring the band pretty regularly since. So, of course, the blogging community at large started to really take notice. Really, it was about time. We’ve been following the band for a few years now and are excited to have them playing at our first ever official CMJ Music Marathon showcase on Saturday at The Delancey. Here’s what we wrote about them when they played a show we set up last summer:
A Place To Bury Strangers has often been called “the loudest band in New York.” This may very well be true. But we feel it’s important to stress that for every decibel they pack into their sound, there’s an equal element of substance. Sure, they’re loud. And they’re obviously proud of this accomplishment — for good reason. Unlike so much “loud” rock and roll that’s out there, APTBS is not loud simply for loudness’ sake. The sonically overdriven sound they’ve accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered on by an unbridled passion that’s clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. They clearly have a passion for making music — not just the playing of it, but also the adventure of coming up with new ways of playing it, new ways of making sounds. Listen closely to their music and you’ll realize it’s not just the wall of noise it’s likely often mistaken for by those unwilling to take the time, but layers upon layers of intricately placed and tediously balanced sounds positioned for maximum impact. Peel away those layers and it begins to become clear that this is a trio daringly wearing its passion — its emotions — on its collective sleeve. A Place To Bury Strangers does not so much play songs as they allow them to pour out. They are songs about longing, heartbreak, confusion. They are songs played extremely well and at a passionately loud volume.
Back in April we shot the band at Union Pool and posted a couple of videos here on the site. The video above is a newly available one from that same show. The song is called “The Falling Sun” and is available on their just released self-titled album. Below are the other two videos from before:
“Gimme Acid”
“Dead Beat”
A Place To Bury Strangers will be playing at the StereoactiveNYC/Hot Rocks Party Official CMJ Showcase on Saturday, October 20th at The Delancey in NYC. The event is co-sponsored by DigitalFreedom.org.
