A Place To Bury Strangers, "Keep Slipping Away"

An obvious choice for a single, "Keep Slipping Away" is one of A Place to Bury Stranger's most immediate and gratifying songs. Live, it provides a little relief from the Strangers' onslaught, but keeps things upbeat and, maybe more importantly, provides an easily remembered hook. On 7" it's the A-Side to "Hit the Ground," a killer punk-rock/surf-rock hybrid that probably deserved a place on Exploding Head.

 

Mute

As far as immediate, red-hot rock songs go, A Place to Bury Strangers is among the best bands out there. Hell, Exploding Head could have been a punk record if it weren't for their shoegaze affiliations and songs like "I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart." But, songs like "Hit the Ground" are good evidence that Oliver Ackermann still has a little hardcore in his heart, as it drives forward with stacatto eighth note rhythms and a pounding chorus that stomps the floor more than anything else. The lead melody reminds me a little bit of Dick Dale, but when Ackermann lets his guitar go nuts and the bass line takes over melodic duties I'm reminded just a little bit of Hüsker Dü, though not because of any similarity in their songwriting. "Hit the Ground" just sounds like a big, beautiful mess, much in the same way most of New Day Rising does. Sloppy, completely electrified songs with a lot of forward movement, big rhythms, and no small amount of testosterone are among my favorite things, so this song hits the spot. I'd like to see this thing pop up on a collection of B-Sides somewhere down the line as I could easily wear this 7" out from overplaying it.

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