aaamusic | On 30, May 2010

London, 25th May

On Tuesday night Heaven, one of the most famous gay clubs in London, was transformed by a shock wave of noise-pop, delivered by three loud, young, rocking bands.

To my great delight the Norwegian opening act, The Megaphonic Thrift, inaugurated the night with a heap of guitar riffs, feedback and powerful drumming. The band, who has recently released their promising debut album Decay Decoy, has certainly set the tone for an electro noise-pop wonderland.

A bewildering appearance by the Californian Crocodiles followed. With their front man concentrating too much on a bad imitation of “Mick Jagger’s moves”, together with a repetitive drumming, the band didn’t quite match the captivation of the more solid opening act.

Soon after A Place To Bury Strangers (APTBS) took over the stage, surrounded by a permanent shadow and suffused glow of spotlights, they certainly showed the London crowd the reason why they are also known as “the loudest band in New York”.

The NY trio kicked off the gig with two songs taken from their latest album, Exploding Head (2009): In Your Heart and Exploding Head. The sonic fury unleashed by the JSpace’s drumming is tied up with the unrepressed and all-involving passion of Oliver (Ackermann) ‘s guitar and Dion (Lunandon) ‘s bass sounds.

The explosive band, vaguely reminiscent of predecessors such as Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, did not hesitate to show why they are the next generation of King of Noise, especially on tracks such as Ego Death, (my favourite) Deadbeat, To fix the gash in your head and Ocean.

I guess that during this European Tour, APTBS will be responsible of a few young Europeans’ hearing damages!! So, if you plan to see this band soon, you’d better be prepared!

Author: Laura Delnevo