WebliminalBlog

What’s more, Exploding Head matters. And when it is released in October it will instantly become one of the most essential releases of 2009. In fact, it’s not yet released, and it’s easily at the top of my ever-changing list of Best Albums of ‘09. Consider this: for all of the mind-wanking circle-jerkery present on/and relating to indie-kid favorites like the recent releases from Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors, this second album from A Place to Bury Strangers actually delivers an entire album of undeniable perfection.

It’s a great, somehow moving transition. There a bunch of these moments across the 10 tracks: For this and other reasons the album really needs to be heard in its entirety. (And on good, loud speakers: Oliver Ackermann takes the name of his Death By Audio effects pedals and this Exploding Head title seriously.)

Regardless of the influences, A Place to Bury Strangers sound very much like themselves. Their sound is the kind of music you might hear in your head on nights when you’ve stayed up too late and somehow managed to take things further than usual. The fact that they were signed to the legendary Mute Records recently – home to Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and most notably, Depeche Mode – can only promise bigger and better things for a band that has already distinguished themselves with their impressively loud and energetic live show.