In the past, A Place To Bury Strangers could surprise through sheer force. On lots of the band's releases, there were at least one or two moments that really knocked a listener backwards. Now, following line-up and stylistic changes on their most recent release, the trio are back with a fairly convincing long-player. See Through You, out now via Oliver Ackerman's own DedStrange imprint, is good, if overlong.
"I'm Hurt" is NiN-ish, which seems at odds with the louder stuff from this outfit's own back-catalog, and that's sort of a lackluster way to move things forward. Luckily, on the surging "So Low" and deafening "Dragged in a Hole" it seems as if we're in a familiar place. Not entirely original, of course, but at least A Place To Bury Strangers are cranking things up a bit and driving ahead. If cuts here sound like JAMC, Loop, Main, Spacemen 3, and Tones on Tail, the diversity doesn't necessarily reassure. See Through You works better in small doses, when the numbers' lack of inspiration doesn't seem so apparent.
Still, "Anyone But You" works very well, as does "My Head is Bleeding", another cut with a debt owed to "Autobahn 666"-era Primal Scream. Pieces of this record are mixed quite well, but the tunes just don't seem as bracing and powerful as the three players likely think they are. That See Through You is a good 15 minutes too long is another factor, because whatever force is achieved early on is diminished as the 13 selections march on and on. I mean, the final 2 cuts here eat up a good 11+ minutes alone and that's time probably better spent revisiting the first few tracks on this album.
See Through You is out now.
[Photo: Ebru Yildiz]