Tap the Supersonic Fuzz Gun

Well, now we’re on the ‘they’re from New York and sound a bit like Jesus and Mary Chain’ tour, I should introduce you to A Place To Bury Strangers. This band is being described as the loudest band from New York, mostly because of their overwhelmingly use of reverberating distortion which blows out of your speakers.

This is where front man Oliver Ackermann kicks in. He’s responsible for these noise explosions, since he designs and builds his own hand-wired pedals, not only for APTBS but also for bands like Spoon, Wilco and TV on the Radio. The pedals have names like Interstellar Overdriver, Total Sonic Annihilation and Supersonic Fuzz Gun, and their sound can be heard on the website of Ackermann’s company, Death By Audio. If you don’t feel like clicking the link; the names of the pedals pretty much describe their sound.

After shoegaze band Skywave split up, front man Ackermann formed APTBS and the other band members continued under the name Ceremony. APTBS recorded a self-titled debut album, which sounds like I said, a bit like JAMC. Especially the guitar effect, bassline and distant and monotone vocals can be compared to JAMC‘s Psychocandy. Just listen to APTBS’s Breathe and Psychocandy’s Inside Me and you’ll know what I’m talking about (or won’t of course). But APTBS aren’t just copycats. They have their own distinct sound that’s less slow and sweet for example and also tends more towards post-punk.

Their album has a lot of good songs, but I especially like I Know I'll See You and the epic album closer, Ocean…but that’s me. Feel free to listen to the other songs!