A Place to Bury Strangers - "Synthesizer"
In-your-face 80s vibes
Okay, first off, do not start this album off with your volume up.
The top genric label on the band’s wikipedia is Noise Rock, and this is one that, I have to admit, I always forget exists. But I can see why it’s applied here.
This is my first experience with this Brooklyn-based act, and it was a bit overwhelming. The album kicks off with a sustained, high-pitched guitar riff — high and solid enough that it sounds a bit more like blaring brass than any string instrument. The bass bangs out a groove with percussion support underneath, but the guitar is way forward in the mix, relegating everything else to the backseat and making the songs “louder”.
This is not an album to play when you’re already overstimulated or stressed.
With that strong warning out of the way, Synthesizer is a banger. It’s very upbeat, yet moody, very reminiscent of New Wave. And there’s a reason for that!
In my recent review of The Smile’s Cutouts, I confessed that I wasn’t incredibly familiar with Post-Punk, and I’ve been looking into it a bit since. Turns out that if anything is to be labeled the Rock equivalent of New Wave, it would be Post-Punk (and the subsequent Post-Punk Revival).1 I have to caveat that it doesn’t seem to be a 1:1 translation, but it’s the closest we have.
Aside from Noise Rock, the two labels I’m seeing most from other critics are Post-Punk and Shoegaze. I think I can safely agree with that consensus.
The album’s (other) major weakness is that it does feel somewhat samey. The muted vocals and darker tone tend to blend everything together a bit. This leaves me in a position of being unable to recall which song was which once a couple have passed; and the abrasive guitar2 has me hesitant to throw any of these songs into my regular rotation without triple-checking each one individually.
It feels fitting, then, that the album contains a track called “It’s Too Much”.
I really enjoyed Synthesizer, but I’m also a bit leery of it. It hurts very good, but I do actively wince while it plays.3 Not because the songs are bad, but because the mix is very aggressive.4
If that doesn’t bother you, and you love you some upbeat 80s vibes, you’ll love this album.
Rating: Green
Post-Punk will be joining Post-Grunge on my list of inappropriately-labeled “Post-” genres.
Sorry, The Alternative, but I do think it is too abrasive too regularly.
And I have tried on multiple outputs.
Allowing this to factor into my decision makes me feel old. But the fact remains that I can’t enjoy the album as much as I should, given how excellent the composition is.