A Place To Bury Strangers - Onwards To The Wall EP Review

It is safe to say that A Place To Bury Strangers are more of a EP band. 'Onwards To The Wall' is their seventh EP to date. During the course of the bands existence, they have only released three singles. The band and their team have to be applauded for this as with the state of today's music, A Place To Bury Strangers aren't really a singles kind of band. You can't see Chris Moyles playing 'So Far Away' on Radio One's breakfast show - although if Zane Lowe was covering for him, things might be different.

Add another track to this EP and you could have a mini album; that's how much value for money you get with these guys. There is none of that 'extended track' or 'remixed by Example' business.

'Onwards To The Wall' is five glorious noise fuelled tracks filled with pure carnage, energy and feedback. Like a kick in the face, 'Onwards To The Wall' smashes out with 'I Lost You' which, if played loud enough, will attack your ears to the brink of pain. The one thing about A Place To Bury Strangers is that if there wasn't any feedback on their stuff would it actually work? Feedback and chaos are a part of this band but somehow, every chord and screech has its place; there is a method to the madness.

'So Far Away' seems to be a little bit more structured but still containing that raw loud feel that everyone (well, maybe not everyone) has grown to love. The one thing that you have to ask yourself is if this sounds like this on record (or mp3), what would it sound like live?

The irony of it all is that the title track is the least noise infused chaos but at the same time, you know that it's A Place To Bury Strangers track that, in its own way, still blows your mind.

People say the music industry is dying; it's not that it's that the listeners have got lazy. We no longer need to go out to a record shop and search for something new. We just go online, listen, read and then order what we want, which in some cases means that people can be persuaded about something easier. Some of the mainstream sites and publications can really give a band some great press but nine times out of ten, it is like Flavor Flav said "Don't don't don't believe the hype." With this band that is not the case. They play their music, blow you away and come back with more.

8/10

Mark Moore