Brooklyn's A Place To Bury Strangers have developed quite a bit of notoriety for the volume of their shows, which they happily hint at it themselves. Their new album is aptly titled Exploding Head. Their effects are created by frontman Oliver Ackermann's pedal company, Death By Audio. A favourite pedal is called Total Sonic Annihilation. You see where we’re going with this?
At the heart of it, the trio play heavily distorted noise rock in the vein of late '80s proto-shoegaze, with vocals usually swallowed up by the feedback, and everything underlined by the kind of hard-hitting rhythm section that would be needed to be heard over the squall. But unlike the Mary Chain and the Valentines they are so often compared to, APTBS have a very dynamic live show, usually featuring Ackermann committing some act of violence against his guitar.
Their Garage show tomorrow is their final non-festival UK appearance for the year, and a definite must for fans of loud guitars. Those with sensitivity to strobe lights need not apply. And seriously, the noise reputation isn't hype; bring earplugs.
A Place To Bury Strangers: Garage, 18 November. Tickets: £8.50. For more info, visit www.garage.co.uk.
