It took them a while, possibly long enough for old-school fans to give up on them, but at long last New York’s A Place to Bury Strangers have delivered a worthwhile follow-up to their blistering self-titled debut from 2007. Following through on their promise from last year’s modest Hologram EP, APTBS’ new lineup of stalwart Oliver Ackerman and John and Sandra Fedowitz have pushed their refreshingly organic noise to a perfect crossroads between shoegaze, noise, and electronica on See Through You, the band’s sixth album.
Over the years, Ackerman’s been the only mainstay, pushing harder and harder with each release to pin down a reliable lineup. It seemed that with every release there was a new set of musicians trying to recapture the spark and none managed to fill the void. This isn’t to say there weren’t highlights throughout the catalogue – specifically 2009’s Exploding Head, which contained a lot of what fans appreciated about their debut, only with cleaner mixing and production.
A year under the 20-year mark as a band, Ackerman’s original vision for APTBS has unraveled, but the iteration on See Through You possesses something unique that’s even more intriguing. This isn’t a complete revamp of sound, Ackerman’s not sabotaging the sound or genre-hopping for revitalization, but there’s some abandonment of tired inclusions and a willingness to explore new territories.
First single “Let’s See Each Other” continues the romanticism that Ackerman’s always been a sucker for, but it’s delivered with poise and agility that’s been missing for quite some time. The words “Your stories make me laugh / Lets take some photographs / Every touch sends another shudder,” draws similarities with Robert Smith’s more starry-eyed lyrics, perhaps from Wish. It shows a softer side of Ackerman but it’s paired so well with the industrious drumming of Sandra Fedowtiz that the sentiment comes off almost sinister.
Ackerman’s lyrical acumen was never intended to be strongly obscure, he’s more direct than other shoegaze lyricists, drawing on his influences but also settling for what’s copasetic with his band’s sound. The suave riff of opener “Nice of You To Be There For Me” is stimulated by his Jim Reid mimicry, but the groove is so intoxicating he could be emulating Dolly Parton and it wouldn’t matter. This is the sum of See Through You’s parts, essentially a romanticized gritty sex drama for deplorables.
Things get more excitingly maddening with “I’m Hurt”, which finds Ackerman soaked in reverb and nearly separating from himself and his band and thus absconding to an alternate plain. It’s not rife with experimentation, but this is the riskiest APTBS have sounded in more than a decade, playing closer to their natural sound instead of trying to be something they aren’t.
It pays off. The sprinkling tones of “I Don’t Know How You Do It” are derived from indie rock and tweaked by surf rock but submerged in noise and coming out as an instant classic for the band. Meanwhile “I Disappear (When You’re Near)” sounds culled from some sleazy nightclub floor with it’s dirty riffage, and “My Head Is Bleeding” strains but never falters as it rises in adrenaline. “Hold On Tight” shares some lineage with Darklands, being a tad more ingestible for tourists of the band, all the while sneaking in racketing guitars and screeches of noise in the background.
At just a few minutes shy of an hour, this is also the longest album by the band, which does factor into some of the tedium and lack of cohesion felt track-to-track. The band also won’t win any creativity awards, as they don’t necessarily break any new ground, but that’s not needed on See Through You. After numerous lineup changes, this album feels like Ackerman’s hitting of reset button has finally worked, and the project is continuing down the intriguing path started last year resulting in a hell of a comeback album.
