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A Place to Bury Strangers

Who? Where most shoegaze revival efforts fall short, Brooklyn-based trio A Place to Bury Strangers takes off with the most frustrated, lacerating take on noise pop in arguably more than a decade. Singer/guitarist Oliver Ackermann, bassist Jono Mofo, and drummer Jay Space — who got together after Ackermann disbanded his dream-pop act Skywave — have already earned the title “The loudest band in New York” thanks to their pedal-mangling, ear-splitting feedback. They’ve toured with the likes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Brian Jonestown Massacre; their self-titled debut LP arrived via the Killer Pimp imprint in late summer.

What’s the Deal? A Place to Bury Strangers matches these live bloodshot decibels on their debut album, letting their own line of effects pedals cater to an aggression as close to My Bloody Valentine’s earth-shattering sonics found on their 1991 classic Loveless. While “Missing You” crashes open with reverb-driven riffage and “To Fix the Gash in Your Head” is an industrial-tinged hammering attack threatening to “kick your head in,” APTBS isn’t all bestial guitars, drum machines, and beautiful destruction. The monotone crooning and electric trebles on “The Falling Sun” escalate into sweeping echoes and dark emotional carriages, insisting upon a space for wandering lamentations which, though perhaps premature, are a product of so much more than, well, the band’s employment of their own product.

Fun Fact: As if taking over New York City wasn’t enough, APTBS’s recent gig at Loisada got crashed by cops after the second song because of noise complaints by local tenants. The police officers let them finish their third song, however: one officer said, “This band is sick.”�

Now Hear This:A Place to Bury Strangers � “To Fix the Gash in Your Head” DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web:A Place to Bury Strangers at MySpace

Talk: Which Place would you pick to Bury Strangers?