A Place to Bury Strangers are an American
rock band formed in 2002, in
New York City. The trio is currently composed of
Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals, bass), John Fedowitz (bass guitar) and Sandra Fedowitz (drums). Commonly known by the initials APTBS, the band plays a heavy, atmospheric
Wall of Sound–influenced blend of
noise rock,
shoegaze and
space rock.[1]
The band is known for the loudness of their intense live shows.[2][3][4] A Place to Bury Strangers are commonly referred to by music writers as the "loudest band in New York", a reputation the band developed even before the release of their first album.[5][6][7][8]
History
Early days
A Place to Bury Strangers were formed in 2002 by David Goffan and Tim Gregorio. Current frontman and guitarist Ackermann had moved to New York from the
Rhode Island School of Design following the disbanding of his previous group, Skywave, to join APTBS, and become the primary songwriter after the departure of Goffan. Ackermann also founded the guitar pedal company
Death By Audio.[9] They played their first show at Luxx in
Brooklyn in 2003. Jason "Jay Space" Weilmeister and Jonathan "Jono Mofo" Smith, both from the New York City-based band MOFO, joined the band when Gregorio left. In 2006, APTBS self-released three different EPs, handmade with different color schemes: Breathe, Missing You and Never Going Down.[10]
In 2006, APTBS gained acclaim following their
Webster Hall performance with
the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The band returned to Webster Hall in 2007 to play with one of their major influences,
the Jesus and Mary Chain. Throughout these formative years, the band's live shows became increasingly chaotic, which earned them the title of New York City's "loudest band" from various indie reviewers and bloggers,[11][12] as well as "the most ear-shatteringly loud garage/shoegaze band you'll ever hear" by The Washington Post.[13]The New York Times applauded their revival of "the ominous, feedback-drenched drones of the 1980s".[14]
First album and touring
In 2007, Jon Whitney from the Killer Pimp label wrote the contract for their first album, A Place to Bury Strangers, on a napkin. In August 2007, the band gained national attention after a favorable Pitchfork review of this album.
In 2007, the band joined
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the "Holy Fuck" tour.[15] In April 2008, it was announced that APTBS would open for
Nine Inch Nails on several dates of the latter's US tour. That year, the band played the
Primavera Sound festival in
Barcelona.[16] Following several UK gigs, the first album was issued in the UK in October 2008 by
Rocket Girl,[17] and they received strong praise from the British media including NME and Kerrang!. In November 2008, the band returned to Europe and the UK on tour supporting
MGMT.
Their second album, Exploding Head, was released by Mute in October 2009.
In spring 2010, Smith decided to leave APTBS for personal reasons rather than participate in their US tour supporting
the Big Pink. He was replaced for that spring tour by Lunadon, formerly of the bands
the D4 and the True Lovers. On July 5, 2010, APTBS visited
Bogotá,
Colombia for the first time and played at
Rock al Parque, the largest free rock festival in South America.
Worship
On February 14, 2011, Ackermann stated that the band had begun working on their third full-length album.[18] On January 10, 2012, A Place to Bury Strangers released an all-
Hipstamatic video shot on an
iPhone for the song "So Far Away" from the Onwards to the Wall EP. On February 12, 2012, the band announced that Robi Gonzalez had replaced Weilmeister as drummer.[19] On May 2, 2012, it was announced that the band's third album, Worship, was scheduled for release on the
Dead Oceans label, on June 11 in the UK and Europe and on June 26, 2012, in the US.[20] The band announced plans to support the release with a full North American tour in October 2012.[21]
Strange Moon and Transfixiation
In early March 2013, APTBS announced that they had recorded covers of songs by
Portland band
Dead Moon for release on
Record Store Day 2013 as an EP titled Strange Moon.[22] Gonzalez decided to retire from touring and during the subsequent 2016 tour, John Fedowitz (Skywave, Ceremony) played drums for the band.[23]
In March 2013, the band began recording their fourth studio album, Transfixiation. They recorded for several days at ABC Studios in
Etne,
Norway, with
Emil Nikolaisen of
Serena Maneesh.[24] The album was released on February 17, 2015, on Dead Oceans.
Pinned, Hologram EP, and See Through You
In February 2018, the band announced that Lia Simone Braswell would be a permanent replacement for Gonzalez as the band's drummer.[25] Their fifth studio album, Pinned, was released on April 13. After another lineup change in 2021 with John Fedowitz on bass and Sandra Fedowitz of Ceremony East Coast on drums, the new APTBS roster released the Hologram EP.[26] On November 16, 2021, the band announced a new album, See Through You, which was released on February 4, 2022, with the "Let's See Each Other" single accompanying the announcement.[27][28]
Band members
Current members
Oliver Ackermann - vocals, guitar, bass, drums (2003–present)