Send "A Place to Bury " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 In November of last year, A Place to Bury Strangers released "So Far Away", the first taste from Onwards to the Wall, the follow-up EP to their 2009 sophomore album, Exploding Head. As a song, "So Far Away" carried a lot of the same hallmarks of the material that had immediately preceded it, but unlike the screeching, industrial-minded manic power that defined much of their terrifically visceral self-titled debut, it's a groomed, economic kind of song that rounds-off all of the dangerous, splintered ends. More notable was the video that accompanied the track, a sort of "flipbook" montage of frontman Oliver Ackermann's own personal Hipstamatic photos, stitched together to create a stop-motion-animation effect, except with real live people and settings. Like rifling through the iPhone of a very busy and well-traveled guy, it's actually a unique, voyeuristic peek into the progression of a person's year, complete with amorous cavorting, gigging, and passenger-side window boredom, all set in some pretty stunning locales. But it should be said that, aside from containing plenty of APTBS-related snaps thrown in the mix, it's not a video that feels terribly representative of Ackermann's band. After a half-decade, A Place to Bury Strangers aren't an act that's allowed their music to do much moving around, and when they have, they've let moodier tendencies prevail. In other words, if the "Stay Away" video had solely been a document of APTBS's progression, it wouldn't have been nearly as engaging.Onward to the Wall opens with "I Lost You", and while it remains firmly in the band's wheelhouse, it feels indicative of the APTBS that lives in the mind: A pummeling onslaught of of banshee-wail guitar stacked on top of a chugging motorik bass riff, plus some gnarly, rancid feedback. In essence, it's a no-prisoners take that, while nothing new, is welcomingly jarring. It is by far the best of the five tracks offered here, a return-to-form that seems to take the more calculated moves on Exploding Head and re-routes them back in the right direction. Unfortunately, the rest of Onward to the Wall takes even fewer chances than Exploding Head did. The reality begins to set in that, try as they might, this is a band resigned to making "mature" post-punk tunes instead of tapping into its live-wire essence. Because when the title track shares more in common with an old She Wants Revenge cut than the slow-lane Dum Dum Girls cut it secretly wants to be, well, we got a problem. In essence, if there's anything to be learned from this EP, it's that the majority of APTBS's career can be chalked up to playing it safe. Which, for a lot of us, is wildly disheartening....full text |
| Consequenceofsound |
| Not so much a progression as a steady flexing of muscles, Onwards to the Wall is a brief, visceral 16-minute noise jam, but A Place to Bury Strangers does what they do so solidly, they can hardly be faulted. Undoubtedly prepping for their upcoming, month-long North American tour with The Joy Formidable, APTBS have carved a commendable name for themselves in the abrasive rock scene alongside contemporaries HEALTH and The Horrors, and while they do not yet parallel the clever evolution of the latter group, they certainly prove here that they haven’t run out of ideas yet. “I Lost You” features crushing reverb, relentless echoes, and breakbeat drum work, as Oliver Ackermann sounds morose as ever. Ackermann also contributed to the creation of the video for “So Far Away”, a bass-driven, claustrophobic march given added humanity with playful, off-the-cuff visuals. The title track’s female vocals add a much-needed dynamic to the APTBS formula, and with melodic, spindly guitar riffs and a catchy motorik/post-punk beat, Ackermann, Dion Lunadon, and Jay Space fully show a change in sound from their previous album’s Isn’t Anything-era My Bloody Valentine-in-military-training sound to resembling something more akin to Joy Division via hell. There’s noticeable restraint here, and APTBS might be better for it. “Nothing Will Surprise Me” is one of the band’s fastest tracks, while “Drill It Up” is danceable, with a chorus begging to have crowds respond to Ackermann’s tortured calls....full text |
| Contactmusic |
| It is safe to say that A Place To Bury Strangers are more of a EP band. 'Onwards To The Wall' is their seventh EP to date. During the course of the bands existence, they have only released three singles. The band and their team have to be applauded for this as with the state of today's music, A Place To Bury Strangers aren't really a singles kind of band. You can't see Chris Moyles playing 'So Far Away' on Radio One's breakfast show - although if Zane Lowe was covering for him, things might be different. Add another track to this EP and you could have a mini album; that's how much value for money you get with these guys. There is none of that 'extended track' or 'remixed by Example' business. 'Onwards To The Wall' is five glorious noise fuelled tracks filled with pure carnage, energy and feedback. Like a kick in the face, 'Onwards To The Wall' smashes out with 'I Lost You' which, if played loud enough, will attack your ears to the brink of pain. The one thing about A Place To Bury Strangers is that if there wasn't any feedback on their stuff would it actually work? Feedback and chaos are a part of this band but somehow, every chord and screech has its place; there is a method to the madness. 'So Far Away' seems to be a little bit more structured but still containing that raw loud feel that everyone (well, maybe not everyone) has grown to love. The one thing that you have to ask yourself is if this sounds like this on record (or mp3), what would it sound like live? The irony of it all is that the title track is the least noise infused chaos but at the same time, you know that it's A Place To Bury Strangers track that, in its own way, still blows your mind....full text |
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