A Place To Bury Strangers/Dirty On Purpose @ Death By Audio Brooklyn, NY

Nestled not too far from the Williamsburg Bridge in the midst of CMJ madness yet separate from it there was a show put on at Death By Audio. Death By Audio, the business, is the custom guitar pedal company run by singer/guitarist, Oliver Ackermann, for A Place To Bury Strangers. Death By Audio, the space, serves as practice space, living quarters, workshop, studio and reluctant venue. It is home to several bands including A Place To Bury Strangers, Coin Under Tongue, and Dirty On Purpose all of whom played on this brisk October evening alongside other Brooklyn acts such as Neckbeard Telecaster and Sisters.

After much anticipation, A Place To Bury Strangers took the stage but not before engulfing the poorly ventilated room in shrouds of smoke via smoke machine. Bathed in red light and strobes that eerily reflected off the fog, the band wasn't even visible until the second half of their set. The setting served as immediate indoctrination into their simultaneously abrasive and cathartic/consoling world. The fact that they literally craft their own sound is instantaneously apparent. Completely matchless sounds poured from their amps into the ears of gearheads who approached the stage as casually as possible to make sense of what equipment could possibly be responsible for the emanations coming through the fog. Those who dared to approach were pummeled by the shear volume of the band which overtook you much in the way My Bloody Valentine shows were infamous for physical repercussions on audience members due to shear sonic force. The combination of APTBS's grinding drone bathed in distorted overtones, live drums interspersed with electronics, steady grooves, and haunting distant vocals make for one of the most visceral and satisfying current live experiences.

Once the smoke literally cleared Dirty On Purpose took the stage amidst stark bright lighting atypical to most rock shows. However, an interesting juxtaposition to A Place To Bury Strangers with whom they share some influences but go in a different direction from. If A Place To Bury Strangers embraces the darker side of shoegaze/noise then Dirty On Purpose embraces the lighter side while throwing in some classic indie and dream pop flourishes. There are plenty of string bends, tremolo bar rides, excessive numbers of pedals (checkout the bass player's rig, it's almost comical) and burying of guitars into the stage/amps. However, the overall sound comes across as blissful, hopeful. The stark lighting only let the earnestness of the band shine through who played the bulk of their criminally overlooked album "Hallelujah Sirens" along with some new material. Their sound as sweet as ever was the perfect tonic for frenzy instilled by APTBS that let the crowd disappear into the cool of the night having embraced the gamut of sonic emotion.

Keep an ear out for Death By Audio and all related projects. Something is a brewin' in Brooklyn and it's actually worthy of hype.

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