Brooklyn noise
misfits A Place To Bury Strangers recently released their fifth album, Pinned, and the result is a stripped
back, goth-colored, industrialized punk piece. The band, known for turning up
the audio excess (insert Spinal Tap’s famous “These go to eleven” line all throughout),
disassembled their sound and stayed within the bounds of 10. The outcome is a
growth from the experimentation done on 2015’s Transfixiation, a quirky yet excellent effort. While listeners are
still treated to short, aggressive clamor, the subtlety of Pinned’s noise rock is compelling and fantastic. New drummer Lia
Simone Braswell (formerly of Le Butcherettes) works the kit with exceptional
prowess and occasionally adds rich vocal accompaniment to Oliver Ackermann’s
distinct baritone and fuzzed out, swirly guitar work, lending a chilling
essence to the music. Dion Lunadon’s heavily distorted melodic bass lines
remain solid and drives the band’s sound into greater sonic territory with a
Peter Hook-like quality. Stand out tracks like the haunting opener “Never
Coming Back”, aggro-punk number “Look Me in the Eye”, and poppy album closer
“Keep Moving On” showcase the band’s unique approach to each song delivered on
the 12-track album, and it all comes together with pulsating post-punk energy.
The band’s new relatively stripped-down sound is impressive, and not a touch of
what made them modern shoegaze sweethearts is lost. They took a successful
gamble with Pinned, a compelling and rewarding
listen from a band that re-emerged as powerful and dynamic as ever.
Photo: Brooklyn Vegan
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