A Place to Bury Strangers – 7th Level Music

A Place to Bury Strangers drop “Acid Rain” on all of us.

New-York based band A Place To Bury Strangers release “Acid Rain,” the second single from their new rarities album, Rare And Deadly, out April 3rd via Dedstrange. Following lead single, “Everyone’s The Same,” “Acid Rain” was born out of the first Trump presidency and pulses with unruly energy.

Reflecting on the track and era, Oliver Ackerman says; “Cruelty felt not just normalized, but weaponized. Watching people in power openly coerce others into silence, compliance, and violence was horrifying, and still is. What shook me most was how casual it all felt, how easily people turned their heads while others were being crushed.” In the song’s opening lines, Ackerman sings: “Cover your eyes // Cover your face // Walk in line // Don’t embrace.”

He continues: “The chanting at the beginning was recorded during the George Floyd protests in Manhattan and Brooklyn, real voices, real streets, real fear mixed with hope. For a moment, it felt like maybe people would finally wake up and refuse this racist machinery. But here we are, still watching detention centers, modern slavery, and countless other atrocities continue under different names. ‘Acid Rain’ is rage, grief, and disbelief all colliding at once, the sound of watching history repeat itself while knowing exactly how wrong it is.”

The accompanying video was shot on January 16th, 2026, for one song, one stop and a bridge. A Place to Bury Strangers took over the New York City subway and turned it into a moving stage for a raucous rendition of “Acid Rain.” The track detonates in real time as the train makes its way through the Williamsburg Bridge into the Lower East Side, no choreography, no script. All this industrial pulse and feedback over screeching train tracks was shot guerrilla-style, this video is not a reenactment. It’s a live wire running through a frozen subway car of lucky witnesses who showed up anyway. Bold, relentless and built to last. New York at its finest.

Watch the “Acid Rain” Video

Rare and Deadly cracks open a decade-long vault of raw nerve and sonic chaos from A Place To Bury Strangers. Spanning 2015–2025, this collection of demos, B-sides, abandoned experiments, and forgotten fragments reveals the band at their most unfiltered—caught between breakthrough ideas and beautiful mistakes. Pulled from Ackermann’s personal archive of late-night recordings, blown-out tapes, and half-finished sessions, here the interference is closer, the electricity more dangerous, the edges left jagged on purpose.

What makes Rare and Deadly truly unprecedented is that every format tells a different story. The CD, cassette, vinyl, and digital editions each feature their own unique tracklisting, a fractured release strategy that is almost unheard of. No single version contains the “complete” album. Instead, each format becomes its own window into the archive, revealing alternate paths, missing links, and parallel versions of the band’s inner life. It’s a deliberately unstable document: the album shifts depending on how you choose to hear it, mirroring the chaos of its creation.

Across these recordings, you can hear the evolution of Ackermann’s restless mind. Some pieces feel like prototypes for future chaos, seeds that later bloomed on studio albums. Others are dead ends—ideas too volatile, too strange, or too personal to ever fit the frame of a proper release. But together they form a secret history of the band, a parallel world of possibilities that existed just outside the spotlight. The tracks contain riffs mutated by malfunctioning pedals, songs born from gear pushed past its limits, or delicate melodies overwhelmed by walls of feedback until only their ghosts remain.

Rare and Deadly is less a compilation and more a documentary—an aural snapshot of how sound takes shape before it hardens into something finished. You hear the room, the accidents, the restless experimentation, the immediacy of a moment being captured before it disappears. It’s a reminder that A Place To Bury Strangers has always thrived in this in-between space: the tension between control and collapse, melody and noise, beauty and distortion.

Pre-order Rare And Deadly

Watch:
“Acid Rain” video
“Everyone’s The Same” video

Rare And Deadly Tracklists Per Format

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
Tue. April 7 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz
Wed. April 8 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Thu. April 9 – Praha, CZ @ Futurum Music Bar
Fri. April 10 – Brno-město, CZ @ Kabinet múz
Sat. April 11 – Bratislava, SK @ PINK WHALE BAR
Sun. April 12 – Budapest, HU @ A38
Mon. April 13 – Belgrade, RS @ Karmakoma
Tue. April 14 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape 5
Wed. April 15 – București, RO @ Control Club
Fri. April 17 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club
Sat. April 18 – Athina, GR @ Gazarte
Mon. April 20 – Rome, IT @ Monk Club
Tue. April 21 – Florence, IT @ Ex Fila
Wed. April 22 – Bologna, IT @ Social Center TPO
Thu. April 23 – Milan, IT @ Santeria
Fri. April 24 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
Sun. April 26 – Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
Mon. April 27 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9
Wed. April 29 – Utrecht, NL @ De Helling
Thu. April 30 – Deventer, NL @ Burgerweeshuis
Fri. May 1 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club Festival 2026

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

A Place to Bury Strangers set to release “Rare and Deadly” rarities album on April 03, 2026.

New-York based band A Place To Bury Strangers announce their new rarities album, Rare And Deadly, out April 3rd via Dedstrange, and release the lead single, “Everyone’s The Same.” Following 2024’s Synthesizer, Rare and Deadly cracks open a decade-long vault of raw nerve and sonic chaos from A Place To Bury Strangers. Spanning 2015–2025, this collection of demos, B-sides, abandoned experiments, and forgotten fragments reveals the band at their most unfiltered—caught between breakthrough ideas and beautiful mistakes. Pulled from Oliver Ackermann’s personal archive of late-night recordings, blown-out tapes, and half-finished sessions, these tracks pulse with the unruly energy that has always defined APTBS, but here the interference is closer, the electricity more dangerous, the edges left jagged on purpose.

What makes Rare and Deadly truly unprecedented is that every format tells a different story. The CD, cassette, vinyl, and digital editions each feature their own unique tracklisting, a fractured release strategy that is almost unheard of. No single version contains the “complete” album. Instead, each format becomes its own window into the archive, revealing alternate paths, missing links, and parallel versions of the band’s inner life. It’s a deliberately unstable document: the album shifts depending on how you choose to hear it, mirroring the chaos of its creation.

Across these recordings, you can hear the evolution of Ackermann’s restless mind. Some pieces feel like prototypes for future chaos, seeds that later bloomed on studio albums. Others are dead ends—ideas too volatile, too strange, or too personal to ever fit the frame of a proper release. But together they form a secret history of the band, a parallel world of possibilities that existed just outside the spotlight. The tracks contain riffs mutated by malfunctioning pedals, songs born from gear pushed past its limits, or delicate melodies overwhelmed by walls of feedback until only their ghosts remain, as on today’s single, “Everyone’s The Same.”

Reflecting on the track, Ackerman says: “I had a dream where a man led me to a brook, peaceful and calm. When he turned his head slightly, I saw the most evil smile imaginable. But when I looked directly at him, it was just the back of his head again. Beauty and horror coexisting in the same space. It felt like hell leaking into something serene. Maybe that’s reality sometimes. And maybe pretending otherwise is a kind of survival.”

Stream “Everyone’s The Same”

Rare and Deadly is less a compilation and more a documentary—an aural snapshot of how sound takes shape before it hardens into something finished. You hear the room, the accidents, the restless experimentation, the immediacy of a moment being captured before it disappears. It’s a reminder that A Place To Bury Strangers has always thrived in this in-between space: the tension between control and collapse, melody and noise, beauty and distortion.

Pre-order Rare And Deadly

Rare And Deadly Tracklists Per Format

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
Tue. April 7 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz
Wed. April 8 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Thu. April 9 – Praha, CZ @ Futurum Music Bar
Fri. April 10 – Brno-město, CZ @ Kabinet múz
Sat. April 11 – Bratislava, SK @ PINK WHALE BAR
Sun. April 12 – Budapest, HU @ A38
Mon. April 13 – Belgrade, RS @ Karmakoma
Tue. April 14 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape 5
Wed. April 15 – București, RO @ Control Club
Fri. April 17 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club
Sat. April 18 – Athina, GR @ Gazarte
Mon. April 20 – Rome, IT @ Monk Club
Tue. April 21 – Florence, IT @ Ex Fila
Wed. April 22 – Bologna, IT @ Social Center TPO
Thu. April 23 – Milan, IT @ Santeria
Fri. April 24 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
Sun. April 26 – Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
Mon. April 27 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9
Wed. April 29 – Utrecht, NL @ De Helling
Thu. April 30 – Deventer, NL @ Burgerweeshuis
Fri. May 1 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club Festival 2026

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Live at Levitation (2023)

On their Live at Levitation album, it’s easy to forget that this recording was only the second show of A Place to Bury Strangers‘ current lineup (Oliver Ackermann – guitar and lead vocals, John Fedowitz – bass and lead vocals, Sandra Fedowitz – drums). They jumped right in (literally, in Ackermann’s case, as he was so frantic that his guitar almost flew into the stage) and proceeded to, as always, flatten the place.

Mrs. Fedowitz’s Devo-like drumming gets things off to a great start on “Dragged in a Hole.” Mr. Fedowitz’s bass throbs like a bubbling volcano on “Let’s See Each Other” as Ackermann’s voice and guitar bounce off every surface.

“We’ve Come So Far” always hits like a burst of anti-aircraft fire live, and this version is no exception. It’s difficult to tell which of the three is hitting harder on it…and that’s kind of the point. Mr. Fedowitz’s thick, sludgy bassline opens “Never Come Back” while Ackermann’s guitar sounds like jet engines starting, failing, roaring, and screeching.

Mrs. Fedowitz hits her toms so hard and fast in the first third of “Alone” that it’s surprising her drum tech didn’t have to replace them every eight bars or so. The breakdown / switch in the song that rushes it into heavy shoegaze is outstanding. “I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart” is another stunner. It sounds like the entire room is collapsing under an attack from a Martian tripod and barely gives you a chance to process everything that’s happening.

I say this about “Ocean” a lot, but it’s always true: Every time I think I’ve heard the loudest version of it live, APTBS somehow makes one even louder and wilder and more transcendent. This one evolves / devolves into feedback-chaos and almost makes your brain melt. The album ends with “Have You Ever Been in Love?”, which has Mrs. Fedowitz singing / chanting high notes to contrast the heavy, almost deafening buzz of the entire track.

APTBS shows are designed so you (and the people a couple blocks away) not just hear the music, but feel it. It rattles your whole body. My fiancé said, “I think I need a neck adjustment after that.” when she saw them for the first time. This album gets you close to that nerve-rattling, mind-altering sensation. My longtime description of APTBS is “They’re not for everyone, but I want everyone to hear them.”

Play this one loud, and everyone around you will (and should).

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be a stranger to the subscription box.]

Top 25 concerts of 2025: #’s 15 – 11

More great live shows for you from last year! Who’s in the top half of the list?

#15: Johnny Jewel – September 25, 2025 – Levitation Austin, Austin, TX

Mr. Jewel opened for his own band, Desire, and, for my money, put on the best show of the night at the first day of Levitation Austin last year. It was a showcase of his film scores and covers of other film music ranging from his score to Drive to a David Lynch tribute and giallo-horror tracks.

#14: The Black Angels – September 28, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

The Black Angels always play Levitation. It’s their festival, after all. They help curate it. It was another fine set from them that included many tracks they don’t play often – one of the advantages of not having to promote a new album.

#13: Yin-Yin – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

These Dutch funk-rockers played their first gig in the U.S. ever at Levitation Austin last year and had the entire place jumping by the end of it. This was easily the grooviest show of the entire weekend, and everyone was buzzing the rest of the day afterwards.

#12: DITZ – June 27, 2025 – Levitation France – Angers, FR

This was blistering post-punk in a heat wave that had gripped almost the entire county. You can see the dust being kicked up from the mosh pit in that photo due to the arid conditions of the park in Angers where Levitation France took place last year. The lead singer had run off-stage, into the nearby lake, and returned covered in seaweed by the end.

#11: A Place to Bury Strangers – September 28, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

The Palmer Event Center in downtown Austin, where Levitation Austin took place last year, is a big venue…and it still wasn’t big enough to keep the volume of APTBS from flattening you as soon as you entered the place. Lead singer and guitarist Oliver Ackermann used the high ceiling to his delight by tossing his now-famous “half-guitar” sky high multiple times. Two friends who’d never seen them until now were left stunned by the end. “That’s like an assault,” my friend Wes said, wide-eyed and not knowing how else to describe it.

Who’s in the top ten? Come back tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Levitation 2025: Day Three recap

You can always recognize faces by the final day of Austin, Texas’ Levitation Music Festival. You see the same people who’ve been sweating and rocking with you all weekend and can tell who hasn’t had enough sleep, who’s been in the sun too long, who’s hungover, who’s dehydrated, and who’s an old pro.

The crowd was light when I arrived to see Daiistar open the final day of the festival. This isn’t because Daiistar is a bad band, quite the contrary, but the people who show up early on Sunday are either the die-hards who are getting every cent of their money’s worth for the weekend pass, the people who can only make it on Sunday and have the same logic, the fans of the first band, and those who are so deep in the festival zone that showing up when the gates open has become as automatic as breathing. All of those people got to see a good set of early-90’s vibe psychedelia from Daiistar that was a good warm-up to a hot, humid Sunday.

Afterwards, shade spots were prime real estate at the outdoor stage for Population II, who brought their fiery cosmic psych all the way from Quebec and wowed the audience. They cracked jokes about touring, their own merch, and lack of English in between songs about everything from pizza to panic.

Population II gathering a large population of new fans.

Two friends, Wes and Chelsea, met me at the festival on this day, and I took them to see A Place to Bury Strangers. This was their first time seeing APTBS. “I envy your innocence,” I said. We walked into the indoor stage area within moments of the opening notes of the set and, of course, were greeted by what sounded like a saw mill on fire. As is now custom at an APTBS show, they came into the middle of crowd, near us, to perform a wild, weird set of hammering rhythms and distorted synth…something. Chelsea said, “It felt like they’d summoned us to be sacrificed and then put a hex on us.” We later told frontman Oliver Ackermann this and he said, “Yes! That’s it.” Chelsea said she was still thinking about their set by the end of the night.

As if that wasn’t enough face-melting for you, along came Frankie and The Witch Fingers afterwards with a ton of groovy garage-punk chaos for which I joined the mosh pit and rocked out with the sweaty crowd for a bit (which you could easily have done outside as well since it was so hot and humid that day). FATWF always play well and are a ton of fun.

Frankie and The Witch Fingers casting spells.

We had some time for food at some point. It’s difficult to remember when you eat and which set is at which time when you’re on Day Three. We did remember that The Black Angels were up next for us. The festival’s hosts and curators always play and put on a set of some rare tracks I hadn’t heard in a while, possibly ever, which was a treat.

The final two bands of the night on the indoor stage were indie rock giants -— both of whom drew big crowds. First was Built to Spill, whose lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch had some of the best guitar tones of the entire festival.

Spilling thrills for the appreciative crowd.

Next, and closing the day and the festival, was Pavement. They had a great time on stage, laughing a lot, poking fun at each other, and getting a lot of cheers from the crowd.

There’s always an odd feeling when Levitation ends. You’ve been there for multiple days and nights. You’ve made some new friends, seen the same groups of weirdos, ate some spicy food, drank too much caffeine, and your ears are sore from wearing earplugs for three straight days or not wearing them at all. You’ve experienced something…and now it’s finished. You don’t feel empty or sad, but you do wish you could squeeze another day or night out of it…and you also feel renewed and ready for next year.

See you in 2026, God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Top 25 albums of 2024: #’s 5 – 1

We’ve reached the top of the peak. Who’s the grand champion? Read on to learn more.

#5: Fake Youth Cult – White Light / Black Noise

This stunning industrial / darkwave album is loud and heavy enough to cause the damage seen on this cover. This album came out of nowhere for me and about knocked me out of my chair.

#4: Maquina – Prata

Speaking of heavy damage, the cover to Maquina’s Prata album appears to feature a piece of steel that’s been shot, pried, scratched, and gouged. It’s a fitting image for a record full of wild noise punk, assaulting post-punk guitars, and grindhouse vocals.

#3: LAIR – Ngélar

This Indonesian funk / psych band was one of my top discoveries of 2024. They blend traditional Indonesian music with psych-rock, South Pacific juke, and other stuff you can’t quite define.

#2: GUM / Kenny Ambrose-Smith – Ill Times

Possibly the best collaboration of the year, this album combines the powers of two excellent Australians to create synth-psych that covers a lot of heavy topics with uplifting beats (i.e., the death of a parent – Kenny-Smith’s father, fear of the future and your place in it). I hope this isn’t just a one-time thing for them.

#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer

I mean, come on. One of my favorite bands creates an album that has a record sleeve that’s also a circuit board that you can turn into a real synthesizer that they also used to make the album. Only APTBS could pull off something like this and make an excellent record to go with it. It’s like a Moebius strip of post-punk psychedelic power that wallops you from the first note.

Onto 2025! Which albums are you anticipating the most?

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Top 25 live shows of 2024: #’s 15 – 11

The top 15 live shows I saw in 2024 range from doom metal to post-punk. Read on!

#15: The Well – Stubb’s BBQ – Levitation Austin, November 03, 2024

The Well never disappoint. They opened this night of metal at Levitation Austin’s main stage and set a high bar right away. The mix of older material with upcoming stuff from (hopefully) a new record landing this year was top notch.

#14: The The – Salt Shed, Chicago, IL, October 25, 2024

Here’s a band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. Matt Johnson returned with a new The The album and then a world tour. It was his first time in the U.S. in over two decades. They played two sets: The first being The The’s new album, Ensoulment, in its entirety and the second being a “time traveler’s set” of classic material. Johnson still sounds great.

#13: A Place to Bury Strangers – Stubb’s BBQ – Levitation Austin, October 31, 2024

Here’s another band who never disappoint. It was my girlfriend, Holly’s, first time seeing APTBS. I told frontman Oliver Ackermann (dressed, like his bandmates, as a vampire for Halloween) before the show that I envied her innocence. Her review? “I need a neck adjustment after that.” I don’t think I can sum it up better.

#12: Jon Spencer – Stockroom East, South Bend, IN, July 11, 2024

Holy $#!+. Jon Spencer and the rhythm section of The Bobby Lees played a forty-minute drive from my house. This small venue almost couldn’t handle their energy. The small crowd at this show got a great gift from them.

#11: Gang of Four – Far Out Lounge – Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024

Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d get to see live. This great set by Gang of Four was one of the top highlights of 2024’s Levitation Austin Music Festival for me. Everyone in this crowd was hyped to see them, and Jon King smashing a microwave with an aluminum ball bat was gold.

My top ten shows of 2024 include some old favorites and one final (?) tour. Come back tomorrow for more!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Levitation Austin 2024 – Day One

It’s time to enjoy my favorite weekend of the year with another return to Levitation Austin. The weather on Day One was perfect for both the festival and Halloween. Downtown was packed to the gills with people in and out of costume, but the majority of the crowds were in the spooky spirit (For the record, my girlfriend and I were dressed as Shaggy and Velma.).

Up first was a stop at Stubb’s to catch Mdou Moctar and The Black Angels. We missed The Strange Lot‘s set, and caught part of Boogarins‘, but managed to get about halfway to the stage for Mr. Moctar and his band (who came out wearing wigs and fake beards).

The sound mix was a bit off during Moctar’s set at first, making his vocals a bit tough to hear, but they eventually smoothed out and the band had a great time. The crowd was roaring by the end of their set, and Moctar’s drummer was on fire.

The Black Angels are a new favorite band of my girlfriend, so we moved up closer to get her the best experience possible. They were performing the entire Phosphene Dream album as the first set, which is a favorite of mine since they were touring that album when I first saw them live in 2011.

They played a full second set, including many songs I’d never heard live until then (and I’ve seen them at least a dozen times by now). Lead guitarist Christian Bland did a lot of wild pedal effects during both sets, and their new bass player and keyboardist is sharp.

We snagged some mediocre falafel at a food truck after that and then heading over to Empire to see A Place to Bury Strangers. They were playing the inside stage, and it had been so long since I’d been at a show there that I’d forgotten how small the inside space is. “It’s going to be so loud in here,” I told my girlfriend, who was also seeing them for the first time.

After a great catch-up conversation with frontman / guitar and pedal whiz Oliver Ackermann, the band (all dressed as vampires) came out and, as predicted, flattened the place. Ackermann smashed one guitar and broke two strings on it by the second song (“We’ve Come So Far”). The stage was flooded with fake fog during “Ocean,” and Ackermann and Sandra and John Fedowitz emerged from it like, well, vampires, as their bulldozer of sound rolled over us.

A mosh pit broke out at one point, making my short girlfriend uneasy. I got her away from it while APTBS brought out their rolling synth-drum machine-cacophony maker into the crowd and Sandra and John Fedowitz played their respective drum and bass around it while Ackermann melted brains with weird sounds and weirder vocals. They returned to the stage where Ackermann decapitated a piñata with a guitar and they ended the night with enough feedback to make my girlfriend say, “I need a neck adjustment after that.”

It was a good start to the festival. Up next, several post-punk and rock bands at a place that has no parking and a late-night mini-rave.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t trick me. Treat me by subscribing today!]

Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer

Not to get all “Gen X is cool” on you, but do you remember when cereal boxes used to include phonograph records in or on the box? Seriously, this was a thing. You could get a flexi-disc record in a box of Count Chocula that featured cereal mascots at the disco or even score a Jackson 5 record from a box of Alpha-Bits.

I don’t know if Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar, synths), John Fedowitz (bass, vocals, synths), and Sandra Fedowitz (drums, vocals, synths) were listening to a flexi-disc copy of Bobby Sherman songs found in a box of Honey-Comb when they got the idea for their latest album, Synthesizer, but it reminded me of these flexi-discs because the packaging is a musical instrument.

Yes, you can buy a vinyl copy of the record with a cover that includes dials, wires, and other bits of gear that can be used (with soldering tools and other simple devices) to turn the album cover in to a synthesizer. No joke.

When I heard they’d done this, I first thought, “That is the coolest idea I’ve heard all year,” and then thought, “Yeah, this is perfect for them.”

It’s perfect because APTBS are always pushing the envelope and finding new ways to immerse you in sound. Beyond the wild feat of having an album cover that doubles as a musical instrument, Synthesizer is also a really good record that blasts you into an altered state.

Opening track “Disgust,” for example, blares at you right out of the gate, and Ackermann has said that it’s a half-joke “to turn people off from listening to the record.” Only the daring will venture on after the opening salvo. Only the daring will be rewarded with this track about the pleasure and pitfalls of lust, let alone the rest of the album. The guitars on “Don’t Be Sorry” are like stabs in a giallo film.

The synth bass of “Fear of Transformation” will get the industrial fans to pay attention as Ackermann sings about overcoming fear as it sometimes overwhelms us through the simplest things. Mrs. Fedowitz’s live drums mix well with electronic thumps, creating a near-panic – which is what the trio wanted us to feel all along. The haunting “Join the Crowd” is like a slow slide into a shadowy world that always seems to be on the edge of your vision as Ackermann wonders when people stopped caring about each other (“And is it me? Am I the only one here who even cares? Now I know why. You never had a choice or care.”).

“Bad Idea” has Mr. Fedowitz (whose “bad idea” for something to work on that day in the studio became the sone) considering a reconnection, even though it might cause him to end up flat on his face in the street. Ackermann’s guitar sounds like an angry beetle skittering around in a tin can at one point and like a miter saw in others, while Mr. Fedowitz’s bass line grumbles like a paranoid android.

Romance is a not-so-hidden theme on Synthesizer, and it’s great to hear Ackermann and the Fedowitzs embracing it. “You Got Me” is upbeat and reminds me of some early Cure tracks in that it mixes gothic tones so well with lyrics like “In a world where the universe is crashing down and there’s no hope, I feel ok. You question life, but there’s one thing you’ll never have to ask me. You got me.”

“It’s Too Much” is a fascinating mixed of warped sounds and more lyrics about being overcome with good emotions you haven’t felt in a long while (“I go out, but didn’t know you’d be there, and all this time I thought I was fine, but now I’m high.”). Mr. Fedowitz gives Peter Hook a run for his money on “Plastic Furniture.” I mean, come on, his bass riff on this is insane.

“Have You Ever Been in Love?” is a wild one, with Mrs. Fedowitz crushing her drum kit and adding spooky yet lovely backing vocals and cries throughout it – helping Ackermann express his anguish over a breakup (“Knife in heart. I want to die, seeing you pass me by.”). The closing track, “Comfort Never Comes,” might end up being a new synth-psych classic as it builds with gorgeous notes, Wall of Voodoo-like guitar chords, A Flock of Seagulls-like synth flourishes, and hypnotic rhythms. Ackermann acknowledges his faults in a relationship that’s beyond repair and that he wishes he could amend things (“You and I are in pieces. You could lift me like a stone…You and I are in pieces. I could lift you like a rose.”).

I can’t recommend this album enough to you. I’m sure it’s an absolute sonic wall coming at you on vinyl, but I encourage you to give it a deep headphone / earbud listen. Like any synthesizer played well, it changes the feel of everything around you and within you.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

A Place to Bury Strangers release “Fear of Transformation” just in time for the spooky season.

A Place To Bury Strangers release the new single/video, “Fear Of Transformation,” from their forthcoming album, Synthesizer, to be released digitally October 4th and on vinyl October 25th via Dedstrange. Following lead singles “Disgust,” “You Got Me,” and “Bad Idea,” “Fear Of Transformation” is a snarling, gothic techno-punk track that feels like getting body slammed by a wave out at sea. The track delves into the struggle of overcoming internal barriers. As frontman Oliver Ackermann explains, “Sometimes fear builds up and pins you in a cage. A conversation occurs in my head where I have to convince myself to just fucking do something to break out of it.” “Fear Of Transformation” embodies that internal dialogue, capturing the battle between the compulsion to avoid fear and the push to confront it. The song is a raw, intense conversation with the devil within.

The accompanying video was created by Chad Crawford Kinkle, director of Dementor and Jugface. A teenage boy sneaks out from his parent’s house to go to his first Furry party, but he has a secret. He’s actually a werewolf.

Watch the Video for “Fear of Transformation”

Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for you to own, too, if you buy the record on vinyl. You can watch Ackermann demonstrate how to play the circuit board and functional synth album cover here. In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, to never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point. Synthesizer very much feels like a record of reinvention. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also build a new instrument, thus again the synth in question. The resulting record is one that is romantic, colorful, loud as hell, wild, and fucked up just like the instrument itself.

Pre-order Synthesizer

Watch the “Disgust” Video

Watch the Video For “You Got Me”

Watch the Video for “Bad Idea”

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:

Thu. Oct. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Metropol [Record Release Show] %

Fri. Oct. 4 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen %

Sat. Oct. 5 – Oslo, NO @ Goldie %

Sun. Oct. 6 – Gothenburg, SE @ Fangelset %

Mon. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan %

Wed. Oct 9 – Wroclaw, PL @ Lacznik %

Thu. Oct. 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy %

Fri. Oct. 11 – Poznan, PL @ 2progi %

Sat. Oct. 12 – Bmo, CZ @ Kabinet Muz %

Sun. Oct 13 – Jena, DE KuBa Jena %

Fri. Oct. 25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat &

Sat. Oct. 26 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings &

Sun. Oct. 27 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle &

Mon. Oct. 28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl &

Wed. Oct. 30 – Houston, TX @ White Oak &

Thu. Oct. 31 – Austin, TX @ Levitation &

Sat. Nov. 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #

Sun. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom #

Mon. Nov. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH Psyched Fest #

Thu. Nov. 7 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #

Fr. Nov. 8 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival ^

Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl

% w/ Stella Rose

& w/ YHWH Nailgun

# w/ Pop Music Fever Dream

^ w/ The Black Angels, Martin Rev, The Black Lips & Shabazz Palaces

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be afraid to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Steven at Dedstrange!]