[audio:http://www.scjag.com/mp3/do/youaretheone.mp3] OK, I'll admit it, I haven't given Place to Bury Strangers' new album, Worship, an honest chance yet. Honestly, it's got a lot to do with me being lukewarm on the band's last EP; however, I'm starting to get a better grip of where the band has been headed since the 2009 album Exploding Head.
Simply put, Exploding Head was an aural assault, but mostly one of volume. That album didn't exactly sit well with me the year it came out, but maybe I'm better equipped these days to sit through the album and appreciate its overblown, suffocating compression.
As far as this new album goes, it's nowhere near as heavy or overpowering, but it's not a sign of weakness. Rather than attempting to crush all who listen, A Place to Bury Strangers works to bring some new guitar effects into the mix. There's quite a bit of exploration into different distortion and feedback textures, too. I really get the sense that they're tinkering with new territory in some of these tracks. Just listen to some of the strange sounds swirling around the track streaming above, "You Are the One." Of course, the song itself is good. Very dark, moody, spacious. Exactly the kind of thing A Place to Bury Strangers' experimentations sound perfect for. Look for this album now on Dead Oceans.