Bereits die ersten Töne des Openers “Alone” betäuben sämtliche Sinne. Unheimlich laut und beißend produziert, schneidet der Song durch die Boxen mit allerlei Soundeffekten, einem manischen Basslauf und Oliver Ackermanns herrlich egal vorgetragenen Vocals. Die potentiellen Hits, wenn man das denn sagen kann, sind schnell gefunden: “You Are The One”, ebenso als Single erhältlich, übt sich in Zurückhaltung, lässt jedoch im Refrain Cure-artige Distortion aufmarschieren, während die Grundstimmung an Interpol auf Industrial erinnert. In “Fear” üben sich die New Yorker über weite Strecken in betontem Minimalismus, lassen sogar eine gewisse musikalische Seele, ein sanftmütiges Äußeres durchscheinen, während “And I’m Up” klassischem Garage- und College-Rock überraschend nahe kommt.

Einfacher sind A Place To Bury Strangers auch auf ihrem dritten Album nicht geworden, auch wenn das Inspirationsfeld merklich verkleinert wurde. “Dissolved” als klassischer Post Punk-Track und das schwer greifbare Noise-Bombardement “Why I Can’t Cry Anymore” sprechen, Rücken an Rücken, Bände für die Komplexität von “Worship”. Die New Yorker verstärken ihren Drahtseilakt, leisten sich im Titeltrack und dem planlos vor sich hin plätschernden “Slide” sogar ungewohnte Aussetzer, bewegen sich ins Nirgendwo. Freilich meckert man hier immer noch auf hohem Niveau, denn selbst wenn die beiden Vorgänger besser gewesen sein mögen, wirken die verstärkte Düsternis und die gelegentlichen Ansätze von echten Pop-Momenten wie eine echte Bereicherung für den Sound von A Place To Bury Strangers. Man muss nur noch das optimale Mischungsverhältnis austüfteln.

(Beatblogger)

Natürlich geht Ackerman auf »Pinned« wie gewohnt mit überladener Effektbatterie zu Werke, und das Gerüst aus Cold-Wave-Bassläufen, mechanisch-krautigen Drums und Distortion bis zum Abwinken fühlt sich sofort vertraut an.
Dennoch hat man das Gefühl, dass infernalische Lärmeskapaden wie etwa in »Never Coming Back« nicht mehr uferlos wüten, sondern ein Stück weit im Zaum gehalten werden. Es finden sich deutlich postpunkigere Elemente als noch auf den Vorgängern, sogar vergleichsweise cleane Gitarrenlinien wie etwa in »Was It Electric«. Gerade auch die häufigen Gesangsparts der neu installierten Drummerin Lia Simone Braswell lassen das Klangbild der Band deutlich nuancierter erscheinen und verleihen dem Album einen neuen, fast schon vitalen Spirit. Vielleicht besteht zumindest doch ein Funken Hoffnung in all dem Chaos. Man muss einfach nur durchhalten.
(intro)

Worunter PINNED am meisten leidet, ist das Fehlen abwechslungsreichen Gesangs. Oliver Ackermanns Stimme kommt etwas gedämpft daher und gibt den Songs keine zusätzliche Nahrung. Den besseren wie „Situation Changes“ kann das wenig an­haben, aber Lieder wie „Was It Electric“ klingen nach etwas, das Interpol von einer ihrer letzten Platten gestrichen hätten – und auf das auch A Place To Bury Strangers hätten gut verzichten können.
(musikexpress)

Die 13 Tracks versöhnen Ackermanns Vorliebe für Klangexperimente durch selbst entwickelte Gitarreneffekte mit bestechenden Songwriting-Qualitäten, wobei A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS ihre stilistische Palette so zwanglos zum Setzen bunter Akzente verwenden wie selten zuvor. Der knarrende Opener ´Nice of You to Be There for Me´ tackert gemeinsam mit ´Dragged in a Hole´ und ´My Head Is Bleeding´ hypnotisch in Ostinatos Math-Rock-Gefilden, wohingegen ´Let´s See Each Other´ und ´So Low´ krachige Space-Rock-Raketen mit subtilem Melodie-Antrieb ins All schießen.

In ´I Disappear (When Youre Near)´ wird Shoegaze-Behäbigkeit in bleiernen Doom gegossen, und das Bass-betonte ´Broken´ verschränkt die Soundästhetik des Post Punk mit einem spleenigen Rockabilly Groove, wohingegen ´I Don´t Know How You Do It´ als Kombination von wattig weichem Slowdive-Indie-Pop mit ranzigen Riffs aus dem Garage Rock der 1970er zu kombinieren scheint.

Bei all dieser Vielfalt und Nuanciertheit - grell wirkt auf "See Through You" einzig und allein die offensichtlich ganz bewusst auf Krawall gebürstete Produktion - fungiert Ackermanns kein Wässerchen trüben könnende Stimme als kittendes Element; ihr ist es zu verdanken, dass man dieses wunderliche Klangchamäleon jederzeit als dieser Band und keiner anderen zugehörig erkennt.

(musikreviews)

Entsprechend unvermittelt und feixend prescht der Opener „Disgust“ in ein Album, das dem Gitarrenlärm ein Denkmal zimmert. Doch gerade, weil es eben nicht nur rau, sondern auch raffiniert zur Sache geht und die schneidenden Gitarren häufiger von zackigem Post-Punk-Mörtel untermauert werden, entsteht Kontur und so etwas wie Hooklines.

Näher an den Gothic-Vibes der 80er wie in “You Got Me” waren die New Yorker selten. Der Song versprüht mit überraschend cleanen Gitarren als Einsiedlerkrebs der Platte gar zutraulichen Charakter, obwohl die Sechssaiter gerade hinten heraus gerne neben dem Ton operieren. Dadurch fügt es sich wiederum vortrefflich in den Strudel aus Besessenheit, den A Place To Bury Strangers zum Nimbus erkoren haben.

(MusikBlog)

Der psychedelische Anteil kommt stark zum Vorschein, es wirkt alles verschwommen und wird von quengelnden Noise-Kulissen zerfräst. Natürlich geht es in „We’ve Come So Far“ oder „I’m So Clean“ auch einpeitschender und ekstatischer zu und schrecken diese Männer dann auch nicht vor den Höhen der Dezibelskala zurück. Trotzdem bleiben die verträumte Fins ternis von The Jesus & Mary Chain und die losgelöste Art von Spacemen 3 ein Thema. Ackermann suchte immer wieder nach der Feinabstimmung zwischen den Tracks. Am Ende hat er sie gefunden.

Ackermann, der nebenbei einzigartige Custom Pedals für musikalische Seelenverwandte wie My Bloody Valentine oder Nine Inch Nails – allesamt Musiker, die die Schönheit des Lärms Schicht für Schicht in ihren Songs herausarbeiten – baut, hat eh sein ganzes Leben der Erweckung eines Höllenlärms gewidmet. Auf »Transfixiation« geht dieses handwerkliche Herausmeißeln von Klängen simpel und hart vonstatten. Vor allem auf der Bühne wird dieser Industrial-Shoegaze dann körperlich spürbar: Die skelettierten Melodien kriechen in die Eingeweide der Hörer, wo sie sich festkrallen und entweder eine kalte Angst oder ein wohliges Wummern verbreiten. 

Der Albumtitel ist damit wegweisend, denn ein derart durchdringender und -bohrender Sound wie hier ist den Brooklynern bisher noch nicht gelungen. Vor allem auf »What We Don’t See« wird das deutlich: Der Song wabert und sägt so schön lärmend vor sich hin, wie das einst nur Medicine mit ihren irritierenden Lärmschichten konnten. A Place To Bury Strangers geben den Noise-Süchtigen damit eine neue und wirksame Medizin.

There is a good reason for all the hype behind A Place to Bury Strangers. The trio has perfectly melded droning distortion with a rock and roll beat. With little '80s space rock moments mixed in amongst the shoegaze, the new breed and batch of distortion-driven rock is done best by this New York City trio. As good as their self-titled debut may have been, Exploding Heads is a declaration of war on the eardrums. The enemy isn't APTBS, but your own well-being. Losing your hearing has never been so beautiful or necessary in life, so give in to the distorted pleasure that is Exploding Hearts and let the trio do what it came to do.
(redefinemag.com)

Dieses Album beginnt wie “Unknown Pleasures”, nur mit Drummachine statt Schlagzeug, und der Basslauf legt das depressive Post-Punk-Flair noch eine Ebene tiefer. Wenn dann die Gitarren des ersten Songs “Shadows” reinsägen, kommen einem Joy Division im Nachhinein unerträglich fröhlich vor. Die letzte Band, die den Bogen von den frühen 80ern zu The Jesus & Mary Chain und My Bloody Valentine wirklich gut gespannt hat, war A Place To Bury Strangers – schon längst vergessen. Und wohl die entscheidende Voraussetzung, dass The KVB echt umwerfend klingen, so roh, so kreischend, so dumpf. Leidenschaftliche Selbstverstümmelung. Dass das alles so gut funktioniert, schiebe ich auch auf den Kontext: Die Platte erscheint bei Cititrax, dem Sublabel der Post-Punk-Goldschürfer von Minimal Wave. Zuvor gab es eine EP bei Regis’ Label Downwards und im letzten Jahr einen Compilation-Beitrag – The KVB ähneln in ihren minimaleren Momenten auch Tropic Of Cancer, die im selben Sud schwimmen, und sind quasi ein weiterer Beleg für die Inspiration, die auf Darkness fixierte Elektronikzirkel gerade wieder aus den kühlen New-Wave-Nischen ziehen, da ist Karl O’Connor ganz vorne mit dabei. Die Teile fügen sich zusammen, denn bald kommt eine Remix-EP von “Immaterial Visions” mit Beiträgen von Silent Servant, Regis und anderen. Alles ist eins.

(de:bug)

This is immediately apparent on lead track “Shadows” which curiously sounds like a frazzled attempt at surf rock. Their trademark elements such as reverb laden guitars and hollowed out drums are present and correct, as are Von Barrel’s lustily drawn vocals, sunk deep in the mire, yet there’s a devilish energy that’s the complete opposite to the sluggish nature of shoegaze. The familiar wail of feedback that is “Dayzed” follows, appearing here after it was included on the aforementioned Downwards compilation last year, reminding you that Immaterial Visions is not an album “telling a story” in the traditional sense. These eight tracks were recorded over a year long period between 2011 and 2012 and hand picked by Vasicka from the vast archives of material the duo work on when not gigging.

Of course given the sheer amounts of intense feedback thrown about by tracks such as “I Only See The Lights” and “For The Day” it would be hard to discern any lyrical storytelling were that their intention. Instead, you feel for the time being that Von Barrel seems content allowing his lyrics to play second fiddle to their ever growing mastery of synth lines and guitar hooks. Yet the stunning “Old Life” hints at a compositional maturity from the pair; it’s a standout piece of this collection and perhaps the most overt example of Day’s blossoming importance as part of The KVB.

Her reverberant synths, which bring to this writer’s mind “Tick Of The Clock” by Chromatics, gradually compel the rest of the instrumentation into action and there’s a palpable sense of restraint throughout. The jagged guitar reverb playfully swaps positions with Von Barrel’s cooing delivery with a precision that feels both premeditated and thrilling, remaining in the recesses before swamping your senses as he steps back from the microphone. 

(juno plus)

‘Owe You Nothing’ sports a twee edge, with downcast lyrics that hinge on sugary vocals, backed by a jagged wall of sound in the latter half. Truth be told, we’ve heard that sound plenty of times before. But, Wildhoney do add to the mixture, there’s accessible pop-centric melodies combined with lo-fi charm, they’re delivered with a frenetic energy that bowls the listener over. ‘Maybe You’re Crazy’ is a good example of this. It sucks you in with catchy vocals and then hits with a wave of noise.

If a heavy dose of noise pop is your thing, then Wildhoney’s ‘Sleep Through It‘ will be right up your street! It’s full throttle most of the way, with a short breath for air during ‘Tea Leaves’ and ‘FSA’, otherwise it doesn’t let up. The standouts ‘Seventeen’, ‘Fall In’, ‘Molly’ and the title track are worth the price of admission alone. Wildhoney aren’t taking themselves too seriously and are producing some really fun noise pop along the way.

(Sounds better with Reverb)

The songs on Sleep Through It tend to take a linear approach, but one that’s buoyed by the shading of the music. Concision is the name of the game on tracks like “Owe You Nothing” and album highlights “Seventeen” and “Fall In.” Here, the vocals aren’t buried in the mix, but presented at an often slightly lower volume, centered for a clarity that works to the group’s advantage. This balancing showcases their strength at designing sparkling earworms while guitars warp and peel back around them. The particular clean-guitar tone used on much of the album brings to mind something a friend once referred to as “that 80s alternative” sound: a layered, sweeping timbre you may be familiar with from albums like Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (The Cure), What Does Anything Mean? Basically (The Chameleons), and Ocean Rain (Echo & the Bunnymen), a sound that only certain chorus pedals can truly replicate.

Some of the last generation of shoegazers have fallen on hard times lately — a quick once-over of the new A Place to Bury Strangers album will help you get my meaning here. But it’s good to know that newer bands like Wildhoney are out there. Sure, they haven’t exactly changed the game with Sleep Through It, but they’ve manged to create a deft and thoroughly enjoyable album, and it makes me excited to hear what they’ll sound like on their second and third albums.

(Tiny Mixtapes)

Essentially it's the brainchild of singer, guitarist and songwriter in chief Nick Noble - now the only founder member still with the band. Noble proves himself to be a master of traversing the fine line between intense and ambient here. None more so than on penultimate number 'A Million Miles Away', a near 11-minute-long opus that fuses elements of woozy reverb with visceral noise and the occasional dramatic silence.

Comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive are inevitable, and on the tube screaming 'Watch Her Fall' and cavernous 'Feel Its Real' more than justified. However, what sets 93MillionMilesFromTheSun apart from many of their contemporaries merely content with rehashing the past is their deliberate penchant to push new boundaries. Like on 'Reflections', which fuses motorik beats with a more traditional song structure than its counterparts here, or on its creator's previous releases.

What's most interesting about Fall Into Nothing is the way it's concisely split into four parts, each separated by a series of musical interludes that veer from all out white noise ('Interlude I') to a dream sequence ('Interlude III') which introduces the album's catatonic finale.

Elsewhere, the majestic 'Flying', again exceeding the ten-minute-mark, embarks on a no-holds-barred voyage of discovery. While the opening segment is fairly reminiscent of Oasis's 'Columbia', its final two thirds cavort betwixt sonic territories only the bold would dare to venture. Similarly, 'Sabs Is Free' rides along the serrated edge of aural intensity which provides a stark contrast to the shimmering elegance of 'Nothing Left Inside'.

As the closing 'Outro' brings Fall Into Nothing to a tranquil end, one can only sit back and reflect on a record that signifies the pinnacle of 93MillionMilesFromTheSun's career so far.

With the opening waves of "Stars Fall," Ceremony channels their fuzz through a gorgeous dream pop melody, Baker's vocals swimming in effects just above a woozy mixture of overdrive. The vicious, careening "Never Make You Cry" takes a considerably different course, however, with razor sharp riffs substituting for the previous song's dense sonic soup. The drum machine snap of "Breaking Up" is reminiscent of The Jesus And Mary Chain circa 1989 (a highly underrated period in their career), while "For Her Smile" is a sinister goth-rock standout, rich in feedback and melody. And "Marianne" is contrastingly one of the most chaotic and blown out tracks on the album, as well as one of the catchiest.

The initial shock of Ceremony's unrelenting bombardment of noise doesn't take long to wear off, though the impact never really lessens. However, beneath that fiery exterior is a gifted pop band, whose melodies are strong enough to fight their way through the din. Rocket Fire only runs a little longer than a half hour, but it's probably best to give your ears a 25-minute cool down period before you play it again. And you will want to play it again.
(treblezine.com)

Lead single “Dirty Dancing” opens with stabs of doomy synths and a sparse drum beat akin to Joy Division’s “She Lost Control,” but once again Botwid’s soothing vocal wraps itself around a swooning melody that lands a world away from Ian Curtis’ austere baritone.

Comparisons to the Echo Ladies sound have understandably fixated on shoegaze and dream-pop royalty like as Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, but the mangled guitar squall of “Coming Home” doesn’t even try to hide its homage to the more contemporary influence of A Place to Bury Strangers. Having spoken of their fandom of the “loudest band in New York,” Echo Ladies unleash a tune of such explosiveness that it would sit comfortably on any of Oliver Ackermann and co.’s latest long players.

But don’t be lulled into thinking Echo Ladies have turned their backs on the sort of sugary melodies that leave you yearning for the romance of a youth you probably only ever lived in daydreams. For a few seconds into “Getting On Me” it sounds like they’re about to cover “Footloose,” but where you may have been prepared for leg warmers and leotards you instead get comforting layers of fuzz and mechanical drum machine beats.

(Under The Radar)

With their new album they continue doing hat they do best: Writing heartbreaking love songs with fuzz fuzz and more fuzz, lovely voices and punk rock attitude. With simple but awesome guitar lines they create this innocent athmosphere of some cute little teenage love. The sound of 'Distance' doesn't remind of A Place by Bury Strangers by accident. The good friend and former bandmate from Skywave times Oliver Ackermann mastered the whole albumand gave it this rich noisy over the top sound which makes all the APTBS songs so intense. (Shoegaze Love)

The sweeping synths and deep bass on intro track “Depersonalised” give way to the ringing opening guitar line of “Fill The Void”, where depressed vocals and driving bass lines make for an obvious initial comparison to Joy Division, though the reverb-soaked guitar chords and beautiful melodic instrumental work that build throughout the song takes it in an entirely different and satisfying new direction. “You I Never Knew” is a bittersweet pop song with parallel guitar lines dancing around a relentless military beat, while “Come Down” carves an achingly beautiful melody out of wall-of-noise reverb, cutting guitar, and heavy rhythmic drumming, showing off the band’s masterful combination of dark ambiance and memorable pop song writing.

Like Joy Division, most of the songs are driven on by drums and bass. But where Nite Fields differentiate themselves is through their understanding of melody and harmony, with repeating swirling guitar riffs and icy reverb, over hypnagogic monotone vocals. There are a few surprises on this release, like the clean-sounding traditional goth rock of “Prescription” or the psych-acoustic folk of “Like A Drone”, but generally the revels in a consistent and melancholy shoegaze. Rarely do you hear this type of music sounding so detailed and clear, but Nite Fields have avoided the propensity of similarly-inspired indie bands to bury their intricacies in fuzz,. It’s a wonderful mix of high-quality mixing, nostalgic influences, honest lyricism, and emotional vocals, making for an inspiring debut.

(life is noise)

“Fill the Void” is the first time we hear a human voice, and we barely place its latency as it hugs the backdrop of a distant bass guitar. Somewhere between Nick Cave and Morrissey, vocalist Danny Venzin doesn't quite sing, rather, he mourns with an alluring grace that haunts. It's difficult to pinpoint individual instruments due to the reverb and a lo-fi quality. As a result, “Fill the Void” is just that: an abyss so vast that sounds bounce back and forth before getting lost in an amorphous cloud of energy and noise.

Most of the album plays out like this; each track resembling a psych-rock, dream-pop outro of sorts. “Come Down” is another track that casts moody shadows as it nestles between similarly reverberated tracks, but alternatively, more upbeat ones, like “Pay For Strangers.” This short, but sweet, song is timid, yet warmer than previous tunes. Despite an awkward tempo hiccup between an ambient guitar and a more structured bass drum around the first minute, the track resolves in a refreshing glow that counters the melancholic, broody songs that came before.

“You I Never Knew” is the single from Depersonalisation, and it should be. It's the song with the most structure and probably the clearest vocals, making it perfect for new listeners to grasp onto. A moderately tempo-ed drumset keeps the track lively, while the bassline and the guitar swirl around droning vocals that sing of “missed connections.”

Depersonalisation is an album that's less about music and more about an ambiance. In this way, it can be a tad boring and hard to grasp; a sort of “background music” that isn't exactly dismissable, but not always memorable or enticing either. However, to give credit where credit is due, Depersonalisation is an ethereal piece of work that floats somewhere overhead, regurgitating a mood and painting an atmosphere, leaving the listener a shade darker with each listen.

(in your speakers)

For those unfamiliar with the band, the quick and dirty description for YWTW’s brilliant sound would be: shimmering melodic walls of guitar + buried, far away vocals + a driving and compelling rhythm section (RIYL Air Formation, Ride, A Place To Bury Strangers, Swervedriver, Ride, Toy, Slowdive…you get the idea). In short, it’s awesome.
(When The Sun Hits)

From 'Burning Inside's' opening rolling guitar/drum power hook through to the clattering cascade of layered guitar delay in 'Revelations', YWTW show they're back picking up the dreampop gauntlet laid down by 2012's acclaimed EP, 'Destroyed Places'. This new collection of songs spans the psych-pop genre's darkness and light, set off with Matt Bartram's soft, understated vocals. Stand out tracks are the single, 'Gone In A Day', House of Love-esque 'The Light Is Fading' and 'On My Way', casting the shadow of early Whipping Boy.
(Club AC30)