A Place to Bury Strangers aren't known as one of the world's loudest bands for nothing, and on
Synthesizer, they make a point of upholding that reputation. Turning away from the melodic, eclectic sounds of
See Through You, their seventh full-length takes a much rawer direction that "noisy" doesn't begin to describe. On the centerpiece "Bad Idea,"
Oliver Ackermann and company stand at the edge of oblivion, nearly swallowed by a wind-tunnel howl that feels ear-bleedingly loud no matter the volume level -- a feat they replicate with the shrieking guitars that punctuate "Disgust." Elsewhere,
APTBS open up their music enough to reveal the finer points of the sounds they coax out of their instruments. It seems like they're playing upside-down and backwards on the deconstructed psych-rock of "It's Too Much," while "Don't Be Sorry"'s clever use of simple dynamic shifts transforms it into a blaze of noise-rock glory. The band's
Suicide worship is as potent as ever on "Fear of Transformation," where an industrial stomp barely holds down shards of guitars and synths that ripple and wail. Though this is one of the album's showcases of its namesake instrument,
Synthesizer's focus is on how
A Place to Bury Strangers unite sounds and themes in their music. When
Ackermann returns to the glowering post-punk that has shaped his work from the beginning, it's with a less rigid, more affectionate touch than some of the revivalists who came up in the 2010s and 2020s. In the best way possible, "You Got Me"'s galloping drama sounds like 1989 never went away; on "Plastic Future" and "Join the Crowd,"
Ackermann rails against conformity with the conviction of a true believer. Following the album's explosions, the sweeping closing track "Comfort Never Comes" feels like a well-earned -- and haunting -- return to the band's lyrical side. It may not match
See Through You's consistent brilliance, but at its best,
Synthesizer delivers the noise for which
A Place to Bury Strangers is known and quite a bit more. ~ Heather Phares
