A Place To Bury Strangers — Exploding Head

Exploding Head

Mute/EMI

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

10/15/2009 10:25am

It would be hard to imagine another title for A Place To Bury Strangers' second album, Exploding Head. Aside from, say "Shards of shattering aural glass aimed at your ears in a conscious effort to make them bleed." But that's not really a title so much as a description.

A Place To Bury Strangers' 2007 self-titled release certainly had its loud moments, but the Brooklyn, N.Y. trio have become much louder for their sophomore album. Of all the bands who've grown up worshipping their My Bloody Valentine and Jesus And Mary Chain albums, APTBS are the best, and while they're by no means original they do what they do well.

Exploding Head should come with some kind of instruction manual or guide for best consumption, and listening to the album with headphones on would be at the top of this list. There's no way to properly experience just how truly loud this album is unless you do this.

That becomes abundantly clear on closer "I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart," which features a bass riff so distorted it becomes a sheer wall of white noise. It's not quite on the same level as the "Holocaust" section of My Bloody Valentine's "You Made Me Realise" (especially when that's performed live) but it'll make you thankful — as will the rest of Exploding Head — that there's at least one band out there who are still keen to push the aural envelope and play with sound as much as possible on record.

There's a risk of gimmickry with any kind of excessive noise, but Exploding Head is full of great tracks that recall the aforementioned bands, The Cure, Cocteau Twins and other great '80s acts. It's definitely one of the year's best.

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