Sometimes, an artist sticks to a style even though they have done it to death but lack the vision to move on from the one idea that they briefly got right. Then there are artists who take this one idea and make it work, over and over again. A Place to Bury Strangers fall firmly into this second camp. They continue to sound as fresh as they did on their debut, which is impressive, considering the musical coffers of My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain should be well and truly bare by now. A Place to Bury Strangers have created a magnificent and charged work that demonstrates they have plenty of fire still to be unleashed.
With the album's opener, "Alone," the group grabs hold of their distinctive overblown sound—where before it sounded like they could lose control at any moment—and focus it like a laser guided missile. While their ramshackle approach is what drew me initially to them on the first two albums, this tighter style of playing manages to channel all their best bits without losing any of the music’s power; "You Are the One" is the older, cooler brother of "Missing You" from their debut whereas "Mind Control" sees the group consolidate their strategic assault on my ears as they increase the intensity and volume significantly.
However, it is on the album’s title track where they show how much they have developed their sound in the last couple of years. It begins like an outtake from their first album before they completely blow the song open. Melodies, feedback and blissed out vocals all come together to make a perfect whole. It is a potent piece of psychedelic rock that sounds utterly timeless. This feeling permeates through the rest of Worship, particularly on the gorgeous, dream-like "Dissolved," where a gentle guitar refrain becomes buried in the sort of tremolo bar action that would send Kevin Shields into a swoon.
While I liked 2009’s Exploding Head, Worship sounds like the true successor to their first album and their incendiary live shows (my ears are still ringing from the last time I saw them). The more I listen to it, the more I fall in love with its beguiling distorted melodies. (You know a band has got you good when you wish you could jam along with them.) The only thing I feel is missing from this album is a strobe light to go with the sensory overload of the guitars. Other than that, it is impossible to find a flaw in Worship.
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