Set Details:: A Place To Bury Strangers

BandA Place To Bury Strangers
TypeGig
Part OfA Place To Bury Strangers Winter 2009
Notes:
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Review

Enigmatic Through The Fog
Sat Nov 21 17:44:13 2009
9
Rated 9 out of 13 [details]
 Enigmatic Through The Fog
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by Jo Vallance
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Enigmatic as ever, A Place To Bury Strangers deluge the Cambridge crowd with a thick fog of smoke, filling the small room with visual confusion as well as noise. For much of the performance lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann’s frantic actions are barely visible through the fog - a flash of guitar here and a hint of thrashed strings there. Luckily the music, the hypnotic droning melodies and visceral guitar howls are enough to make up for the band’s invisibility. Tunes like ‘I Know I’ll See You’ and ‘I Know I'll See You’ carry you away to another place where a mixture of aggressive effects and measured drone combine to cleanse your mind in noise - it’s the most paradoxical therapy you’ll ever receive.

Alongside fan favourites from the band’s debut, the aggressive ‘Deadbeat’ gets a good response; never have the delicate pains of love sounded so full of rage as amidst an onslaught of psychedelic sound from APTBS’ instruments as Oliver Ackermann spits the slightly less-than-poetic lyrics, “What the fuck, don’t play with my heart.” Paradox seems to be a central part of the band’s existence, a marriage between lyrics that extol and refute the values of love, and melodies that both snarl and sigh. Tonight there’s a good mix of all sides of the band’s work, with an extended instrumental section allowing the band to rock out at the end of the show. Unfortunately the projections which featured during the first few songs quickly fell victim to technical failure, so Cambridge doesn’t receive the full APTBS treatment; however it’s a good show for all. The new tunes don’t have the epic attraction of the old ones yet, but they’re far from bad and the performance simply sucks you in.