Have you ever wondered what the Jesus and Mary Chain would have sounded like if they were crossed with the pomposity of Echo and the Bunnymen? Ever wondered what the Jesus and Mary Chain would have sounded like had they had Kevin Shields as their lead guitarist? In fact have you ever wondered what the Jesus and Mary Chain would sound like with synths or with a Cure (think Faith) fixation? Wonder no more. I give you A Place to Bury Strangers.
Look I realise that everything old is new again. We’ve had the whole post-punk rehash thing going on in recent years. 2007 saw the start of the -wave redux period and I suppose it was only a matter of time before some new band of hipsters found themselves a copy of Psychocandy and more importantly Barbed Wire Kisses. Some might suggest that the god awful Black Rebel Motorcycle Club had already been down that path but the two days I had their debut album before giving it ay to a friend were not enough to leave a lasting impression.
A Place to Bury Strangers, despite it’s (I hope) deliberate and obvious influences is not a bad record. It’s certainly not the best thing going around at the moment but it’s pretty good. I won’t be lining up for any more of their records for fear that after a pretty solid debut they may unleash their version of Stoned and Dethroned on me. I was always a huge Jesus and Mary Chain fan, and in to hear the feedback being used in the same fashion by a snotty bunch of kids 25 years after Psychocandy is not without it’s charm. In fact there is not one original idea on this record yet somehow I couldn’t care less.
I Know I’ll See You
Ducks Battle Satan 