WebliminalBlog

Backed by an solid rhythm section, frontman Oliver Ackermann is free to unleash the full potential of his own Death by Audio effects without compromising the appeal of the songs. However, the presence of a single guitarist means that several of A Place To Bury Strangers’ songs resemble each-other in their stripped-down linearity. This record isn’t so much a concise album as a pell-mell collection of songs written during different time periods, and this is painfully apparent in the tremendous shift in style from one track to another. Expanding into a four-piece band could open new avenues of sonic experimentation to this group.

She talked to two bands about the mid-March festival down in Austin: first, A Place to Bury Strangers, a band composed of a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist and a gigantic wall of noise and feedback. Then, she chatted with one-half of Ra Ra Riot, a six-member group that features strings and catchy melodies. They offered up what they’re excited about (mostly free stuff), who they’re excited to see and what not to pack.

Oliver Ackermann, founder of Death By Audio, has created Total Sonic Annihilation, an experimental effects pedal that is unlike any other that has been produced in the past.

One of the greatest examples of interactive media I’ve ever seen came burned onto a CD-ROM bundled with an annual awards issue of ID magazine. Love Disc 95, the work of Paul Kim and Karl Ackermann, former RISD graduates, was a series of stream of consciousness mini games of clickety-click bliss, navigated with a little yappity dog avatar (there is a website but it appears unloved and abandoned unfortunately).