A real buzz is gathering for these boys through a European tour with fellow noise-mongers ‘Silver Mount Zion’ and as the undercard to the eclectic rave tastings of MGMT it will only ignite further. Brooklyn has styled these boys and New York has only further etched itself upon the trio but despite being considerably small in number the noise ‘A Place To Bury Strangers’ can produce is out of the very highest of top draws. Their self-titled debut album has components of both tour partners and much more. Tainted with the distortion heavy gloom that gave Sonic Youth their appeal to the shoe gazing masses it will no doubt strike chords with the same demographic this time around. Indeed the vocals from Oliver Ackermann are ghostly echoed and run over the consistent fuzz of guitars and the typical over compressed drums.

‘Breathe’ holds within it a eerie sense of achievement and influences as far as Joy Division, The Cure and My Bloody Vanatine. Often referred to as the loudest band in New York, this tag is no accident and their style is well crafted and plaudits well deserved. In fact the unique complexity of timbre that APTBS wield is driven through front man Ackermann’s desire for new sonic environments and is in fact patenting the sounds as he makes them through a series of effects units.

The album is the result of such experimentation and although on the basic level of lyrical features and structure no new ground is being broken it is the lo-fi nature and instrumentation that really bring this group to life. Live there is no doubt wall to wall sound is to be expected and ear plugs longed for but there are times on this album where a respite is needed. Slower songs like ‘She Dies’ do hold such requirements at their start but the overuse of white noise and distortion only overcomplicate matters and, as with many tracks on this album, songs become too oversaturated.

Evidently A Place To Bury Strangers have their niche audience and although there is no doubt they will be more than pleased with the groups latest release new comers may find the album as hard to get into as the larger stages will be for the band.