Following some notoriously explosive performances, A Place To Bury Strangers made the leap to full-length status with a self-titled 2007 collection, drawing together tracks from various earlier EPs to make a satisfyingly monster-sounding debut. With Oliver Ackermann able to build not only on that work but his earlier time in Skywave, A Place to Bury Strangers was shoegaze as aggressive sonic howl matched with cool vocal reserve, reaching back to early Jesus and Mary Chain as much as late 80s MBV on songs like “To Fix The Gash In Your Head” and “Breathe.”

– Ned Raggett