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A Place To Bury Strangers Will Have You Pinned

     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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