Album Review: A Place To Bury Strangers - Worship

A Place To Bury Strangers
Worship
Rating: Grrrr

A Place To Bury Strangers is similar to bands like The Ramones, AC/DC, or basically any punk band at all, not in terms of sound at all, but in terms of having an aesthetic and sticking to it. In contrast though, where some bands tend to repeat themselves ad nauseum, some, like APTBS, work more at subtly shifting their sound from record to record, providing their bread and butter tracks but surprising you with something new each time. APTBS' palate is always suitably dark; cavernous drums, ominous bass lines, and enough squalling, feedback heavy guitars to bring down city walls. And with song titles like "Alone," "Revenge," "Mind Control," and "Fear" you know it's not going to be a sunny walk in the park, but when you go to APTBS, you know what you are getting.

From the opening blasts of drums and air raid siren guitars, you are completely consumed within their world. Guitars slash and grind over each other on "Alone," singer Oliver Ackerman intoning the lyrics as if the grave is about to swallow him whole.



First single "You Are The One" drops in a brisk Peter Hook-esque bass line, but keeps the guitars coiled in the background, Ackerman's voice front and center. The guitars erupt in the middle of the track, kept in check by the relentlessly tight rhythm section.



Throughout Worship there is no dearth of tracks that will test the limits of your eardrums. From the aggressively brutal "Revenge,"



pop song trapped in the cloak of a feedback haze "Leaving Tomorrow,"



to the punishing attack of "Mind Control."



While 11 songs of this would be overkill, but still expected, it is to their credit that APTBS explores other avenues on Worship. On "Fear," guitars are used more texturally and accent the song rather than pummel one over the head.



"Dissolved" could almost be considered a ballad, with the storms of guitar feedback creating a window into the narrator's mind, before the song changes mid-point and becomes and almost poppy guitar pop song.



Title track "Worship" is dense and foreboding, but quietly creeps up on you rather than destroying you in a blitzkrieg.



Worship is not going to change any one's mind about APTBS. There is no great shift in their sound, no nods to Top 40 stardom, no dubstep explorations, and no highly-touted guest stars. It is simply 11 tracks of what APTBS does best, and does very well.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.