A Place to Bury Strangers...

Of all the 80's influences still making their presence felt, perhaps one of the most important is the Jesus and Mary Chain. One of the most important guitar bands ever, the Mary Chain took the art of feedback to another level and made it palatable. Nearly 25 years since their debut the Mary Chain is still making waves on today's music scene and one of their progenitors who have obviously benefited from the Mary Chain's DNA is A Place To Bury Strangers.

A Place To Bury Strangers' latest album, Exploding Head,is a twisted distorted, processed, pedal frenzy of feedback warped into something melodically appealing. It's as if My Bloody Valentine beat the living heck out of the the Mary Chain and then forced them to record their songs under threat of violence. Exploding Headis quite literally a visceral frenzy of loud guitars being destroyed for your enjoyment and not for ears. This is the sort of record that tests the limits of not only your ears but guitars, amps, stereo equipment, and probably your sanity as well. While there's a good chance your head might just explode while listening to A Place To Bury Strangers, the band, some how, manages to find actual songs amongst the cascading waves of distorted destruction.

While much of Exploding Headsounds like the very end of the world, there are so many melodies embedded within this record that wash over you that it's almost impossible to keep track of them. The hooks' attack is subtle and subdued but leave your in wake of gigantic noisy hooks and choruses that a two-year-old could probably remember. It's truly amazing because like the Mary Chain, A Place To Bury Strangers never lose sight of their pop sensibility and what makes a tune a tune. They might shroud their pop in sheets of distortion, but when it comes down to it, A Place To Bury Strangers are smart enough to know how to do this consistently. As a result of this, Exploding Head is loaded with humongous pop songs that sound like a bulldozer headed for your house. To put it bluntly, mayhem and destruction has never sounded better.

They might be the prodigal sons of the Reid Brothers and might have some MBV flowing through their veins, but A Place To Bury Strangers are making a racket that is theirs and theirs alone. Exploding Headis an amazing album of misshapen, crushing, piercing album of cacophonous beauty. There is not one duff moment on Exploding Headand if you've ever considered yourself the fan of the guitar, shoegazing, noise pop, or anything of the like you will absolutely LOVE A Place To Bury Strangers. Exploding Head is hands down one of the best albums of 2009.