A Place to Bury Strangers, aka APTBS (the name is taken from a poem by Aleister Crowley) is an alternative band from New York City, notable for disturbing Shoegazing. Believe it or not, it's better than it sounds. Also, as a warning, you may want to turn your speakers down when listening to these guys. They're unbelievably loud.
The band currently consists of Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals), John Fendowitz (bass) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums). They started out in 2003, playing in small clubs and venues, quickly being labeled "The Loudest Band In New York". Their Self-Titled Album soon followed in 2007 and they started upping the horror quotient in their music. Then in 2009, Exploding Head was released on Mute Records to positive reviews, with the only negative comments being that it was just plain too loud (not that these comments will stop them).
In 2012, they released their third studio album, Worship, as well as an EP titled Onwards to the Wall. Both LP & EP were met with lukewarm to positive reviews showing that the band is willing to evolve beyond past sounds.
Their live shows are famous for the use of strobe lights and excessive darkness. Yeah, may not be the best show to go to if you have a fear of the dark (or epilepsy).
Oh, and they always look badass in their pictures. Just look at the pic on the right. If they could look any more badass, Chuck Norris would be weeping in a corner right now.
Discography
- A Place to Bury Strangers (2007)
- Exploding Head (2009)
- Onwards to the Wall (2012, EP)
- Worship (2012)
- Loud and Live in 2012 (2013, live album)
- Transfixiation (2015)
- Pinned (2018)
- See Through You (2022)
Onwards to the tropes:
- Darker and Edgier: If you know shoegazing as "that loud 'n super-happy genre that My Bloody Valentine created", you're in for a pretty big surprise.
- Epic Rocking: The version of "I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart" from Loud and Live in 2012 is 12:08.
- Indecipherable Lyrics: Just try to pick up the lyrics from the vocals that are drowned way down in the mix.
- Loudness War: And HOW! Most of their albums are brickwalled to high heaven. Fortunately Onwards to the Wall is showing an improvement in audio quality.
- Miniscule Rocking: "Petty Empire" (1:49), "Look Me in the Eye" (1:52) "Love High" (1:55), "Act Your Age" (1:59)
- One-Word Title: "Alone", "Attitude", "Breathe", "Broken", "Deadbeat", "Deeper", "Dissolved", "Execution", "Fear", "Ocean", Pinned, "Raiser", "Revenge", "Slide", "Straight", "Sunbeam", "Supermaster", Transfixation, Worship.
- Sensory Abuse: What they turn to when brickwalling everything isn't good enough for them.
