Stuff From the Shelf: "Onwards to the Wall" by A Place to Bury Strangers

Listeners will want to check and double check the volume levels on their computers and iPods before pressing “play” on the first song from A Place to Bury Strangers’ EP titled “Onwards to the Wall.” It’s a loud, loud set of songs. And unfortunately, the EP’s sheer volume comes at the expense of dexterity and comprehensibility.

The 16-minute album starts off with “I Lost You,” a gritty song, the beginning of which sounds almost like an un-refined Muse song. But that is where the similarities end. From there, “I Lost You” is a largely chaotic track, filled with guitar feedback and mostly unintelligible semi-spoken lyrics.

Those same characteristics define the rest of the songs on the EP as well. And though subsequent songs on the album occasionally make a welcomed trip into dextrous musicianship – “So Far Away” is an example – a listener is mainly in store for an atmospheric wash of sound.

And that sound is angry. “Onwards to the Wall” flows with dark and intense energy. The songs on it would be perfectly placed in a soundtrack to a movie about some war or conflict in an atmosphere of desolate, post-apocalyptic urban decay. And to be sure, there’s a market for that kind of music, and many music fans will surely find something to like in the relentless momentum of the EP.

“Onwards to the Wall” is definitely an album for a niche market, and is not a release that the general population would want to hear on the radio because of its lack of discernible melody, relentless chaotic sound and unintelligible lyrics. But if someone is angry and looking for an album to immerse themselves in ““ without having to really pay attention to it – A Place to Bury Strangers has just the EP for them.

“Stuff from the Shelf” is a Spotlight blog series in which Daily Bruin A&E reviews the albums and games that have been sent to us for review over the years.