A Place to Bury Strangers
See Through You
(DEDSTRANGE)
Longevity is a facet that can’t be bought, yet for A Place to Bury Strangers it’s something that comes naturally. This is primarily due to the fact that they’ve never stood still, preferring instead to constantly evolve to the point where no two records ever sound the same.
While founding member Oliver Ackermann is the only constant from the band’s formation nearly 20 years ago, his dogged refusal to slip into a formula is a key factor in their progression. Another factor is the ever-changing line-up that brings with it a whole new dimension in terms of collaborative ideas.
The band’s sixth album, See Through You, marks their first with recently acquired members John Fedowicz on bass and his spouse Sandra on drums. The two new members also perform as noise rock duo Ceremony East Coast. It isn’t the first time Fedowicz has teamed up with Ackermann, having initially played together in Skywave prior to forming their present bands, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that much of See Through You owes as much to the textured, darkwave sounds of yore as it does the brutal sonic annihilation that’s become synonymous with A Place to Bury Strangers over the years.
Opener “Nice of You to Be There for Me” screeches and glides, dispatching all kinds of aural mayhem before “I’m Hurt” takes inspiration from early Sisters of Mercy. Lead single “Let’s See Each Other” and the caustic “I Disappear (When You’re Near)” are perhaps the nearest A Place to Bury Strangers have ever come to recording a bonafide love song, albeit dressed up in sonic belligerence. While parity is restored (for those familiar with APTBS’ more visceral excursions) on the blistering likes of “Anyone But You” and “Broken,” it’s New Order-esque closer “Love Reaches Out” that provides the biggest surprise, and possibly overall highlight.
As with all five of its predecessors, See Through You is a dish best served whole, as long as one is prepared for some unexpected moments. (www.aplacetoburystrangers.com)
By Dom Gourlay
Damon Albarn
The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows
(TRANSGRESSIVE)
Throughout his decades-long career in music, from the lead singer of Britpop’s famed Blur to being the mastermind behind the collaborative Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has managed to maintain a global influence. Although such inspiration has taken varied forms with each passing year, Albarn’s artistry focuses on a constant global discovery of music that frequently crosses over into his own. As a distinctly recognizable vocalist, some of his songs may sound similar on the surface, but his willingness to constantly strive to grow sets new material apart in his vast discography.
Such is the case on Albarn’s new album, The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. Although he has been active in other projects, primarily Gorillaz, this release marks his first solo material since 2014’s Everyday Robots. The record’s original intention was to purely consist of instrumentals after Albarn drew inspiration from stunning scenery in Iceland. However, as most artists went into lockdown, their projects morphed with the changing world, and Albarn’s is an example.
In tone, The Nearer the Fountain… feels increasingly somber to those familiar with his previous creations. On the subtly percussive “The Cormorant,” Albarn reflects on memories from a place of feeling trapped, singing, “There was black in the last year/I swear, sometimes, I can see beyond the lighthouse.” He also elaborates on themes of giving up on the piano ballad “Daft Wader” and events becoming nonexistent during “The Tower of Montevideo.”
Despite Albarn’s fluctuating nature between the emotional and instrumental highs-and-lows, his greatest strength on The Nearer The Fountain… is having an ear for cohesiveness. Most of the songs seamlessly track into the next while maintaining a distinct identity of their own. With each rotation of the record, Albarn’s artistry allows for discovering new puzzle pieces in a masterfully crafted way.(www.damonalbarnmusic.com)
By Lexi Lane
Arca
KICK
(XL)
Musical multi-hyphenate Arca understands more than any artist in the public eye that flux is a natural part of the human condition. It’s illuminated in her music, performance, visuals, and whatever medium she uses to illustrate facets of her self-expression. The world Arca has created through her art defies any sort of binary, be it of gender, genre, or form itself. In-between states are explored endlessly, and liberation is found in entropy and chaos.
“Speak for your self-states,” she proclaims near the climax of “Nonbinary,” the opener to KiCk i (and the KICK anthology as a whole). This statement reads as a call-to-action not only for the listener, but for Arca herself. It is a thesis for the overall body of work she has just birthed, with each subsequent album revealing a different facet of identity that lives within her. The respective album artworks, which begin with Arca in human form on KiCk i, undergo drastic experimentation with differing forms and bodies to finally reveal her as a goddess on the cover of kiCK iiiii. The project’s title, according to Arca, refers to the kicks of a fetus in utero; gestation and transition, birth and rebirth are explored as cyclical and continuous processes.
The differing self-states explored across the anthology are manifested in the overall sonic palettes of each record, whether it be the bombastic reggaeton of or the orchestral minimalism of , which sees Arca at her most subtle and understated. Powerful guest appearances run amok, with Björk’s sung rendition of Antonio Machado’s “Anoche Cuando)
