Last year, veteran NYC act A Place To Bury Strangers released Hologram EP (QRO review), a sort of reminder of the loud fuzz band that was more than just loud & just fuzz. Now they’ve lived up to that promise with full-length See Through You, that has moments of not just shoegaze but even relative love & cheer.
Now, this is still an A Place To Bury Strangers record, so it is still based around a driving sound throughout, and fuzzy effects that keep it out of the garage. There are classic APTBS max pressure & effects like “Hold On Tight”, but most notable for longtime fans will be the brighter pieces. “Anyone But You” is an APTBS bop; “I Don’t Know How You Do It” pushing shoegaze. “I Disappear (When You’re Near)” is the band’s version of a (dark) love story, while closer “Love Reaches Out” shows (relative) cheer.
Not every song on See Through You reaches outside or above A Place To Bury Strangers’ comfort zone, some in the decidedly if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it vein. But APTBS are going for something more.
