aaamusic | On 10, Jun 2012

Hang on. Infamous noise/shoegaze terrors A Place To Bury Strangers are producing tunes discernible on first listen. I’m not sure whether that should be in “reviews” or “news”. But come back here, because ‘Worship’ might hold some more tender moments than much of APTBS’ output, but to call it going soft would be jumping on a very wrong train indeed. There is still a malignant noisiness to their third album, it just so happens to branch out into languid, chilling melodies as well, and I can’t think of any way to improve this album.

Opener ‘Alone’ is at first a fairly familiar track to any previous fans: a clattering, snarling monstrosity that sounds like it’s coming at you down a wind tunnel on a stolen freight train, all snarling guitars, clattering drums, and vocals that may in fact not be human, as the whole thing builds into a clanging, squalling, buzzing thing. But ‘You Are The One’ abruptly changes tempo, with a brittle, echo-drenched guitar melody and thick, pulsating bass that compliment the melancholy, resigned lyrics and vocals. Searing washes of sound rise and fall like buzzsaw threats on the horizon, but APTBS manage to rain it all in for a surprisingly subtle and atmospheric number that could almost serve as an easy introduction to their sound until it collapses into thirty seconds of merciless oscillating feedback. ‘Fear’ is pretty much the opposite, a brutal chimera that opens with blistering screeches before opening into ambient sound and one of the most delicious basslines this side of Joy Division. Funnily enough, it does in fact feel like the evil twin of Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’, as its sudden sparseness is so stark and compelling it tugs at the heartsrings before ripping out viscera with its robotic mournfulness, all tragic guitar riffs and distant tumbling drums.
And ‘Dissolved’, oh, ‘Dissolved’. It is heartbreaking. If you ever needed evidence that noise fans do occasionally have emotion, this is it. If ‘Fear’ was an android’s nervous breakdown, ‘Dissolved’, with its ghostly shimmering guitars and slow stately drums, is APTBS’ humanity shining through, dripping not only with soulful echo and warm fuzz but with an almost painful beauty, and a moment of literal clarity, as the band drop their shrouds of effects for a brief moment of nearly clean instrument sounds. Nearly. But the psychedelic result is so well-executed as to take the breath away.
‘Mind Control’ was a real treat for me, a punky garage rock clout with a bassline that simply does not give in, and vocals that sound like they’re crawling out of a well ready to steal souls and corrupt humanity. The layers of bassy fuzz only just manage not to overpower the other parts of the track, with the mindbending guitar delay effects and surging distorted mass of sound suddenly dropping for what could almost be a breakdown before it all comes crashing back for a final assault. This, after a pause, slams the listener into the mesmeric deathmarch of the album’s title track, with a queasy pop melody lending itself to a zombie-like dance atmosphere to the song, and this alone cements the album as one to listen to repeatedly. This is an endlessly fascinating track, with its effects doctored to hide and emphasise the musical side. By the midpoint of the song, its cavernous sound will engulf any listener and refuse to let them go with its impossible near-catchy lack of mercy, rhythmic drive, and chilling final vocal stabs. ‘And I’m Up’ is another standout, if only for being the closest the band may ever get to dream-pop, albeit dream-pop that has razorblades sewn into it, as its blissful melodies are driven by relentless bass and drums and a dark, cutting vocal delivery as well as the band’s signature guitar screech.
If you want reassurance, then take the ferocious ‘Why I Can’t Cry Anymore’, which is so full of feedback, fuzz and cyborg malevolence I find it hard to decide whether I’m listening to one hell of a quality APTBS noise track or the inevitable robot uprising. Everything sounds terrifyingly immense and mechanical and I could listen to it all day. Ditto with the fluid intensity of ‘Revenge’, which just refuses to be anything other than gloriously disorientating, with its dizzying, violent discord and five-minute-epic buildup. This sense of grandeur is matched only by the jaw-dropping ‘Slide’, which features an echo, reverse effects, and sitar-style sound that sounds like a band playing at the end of time. This is beautifully matched by the frenetic pace and urgent, deathly drone of ‘Leaving Tomorrow’.

I’m not just showering ‘Worship’ with praise because I love A Place To Bury Strangers. In actual fact, I’ve been fretting for months that their reputation as glue-sniffing shoegazing hipsters would have somehow affected their actual ability to create great sound. Of course it hasn’t. Their sound has matured and developed, and in all honesty ‘Worship’ is one of the most beautiful, brutal, fascinating things you or I will ever hear.

★★★★★

Katie H-Halinski