A Place to Bury Strangers are not only shoegaze pioneers, but one of the most prolific shoegaze bands, sticking with the music thick and thin, as popularity and trends wax and wane. And the band find their crux in Oliver Ackerman, who handles vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and much of the songwriting duties.
Their new EP, Hologram, will be out July 16.
“The record is going to come out at the beginning of next year, but this we sort of threw together at the last minute with some songs I recorded almost a year and a half ago, and since then, I kind or reformed the band with new members,” Ackerman explains. “Since then, we’ve worked on the songs together, and it was some of the most exciting stuff that I’ve done. I knew right at that moment that whatever comes from this lineup, I’m going to be thrilled about.”
Over the pandemic, while most bands were radio silent, A Place to Bury Strangers released some old demos and outtakes to keep fans preoccupied during the downtime. In part, this reflection helped Ackerman deal with the fact that the band was going through a major transition.
“I had such a personal, intense experience over the pandemic, just sort of dealing with all these things. Past members of the band decided to leave, and that was really difficult, especially when you’ve been working with your best friends. So, I was definitely dealing with some dark times, and since those things happen at different times in everyone’s life, it’s something everyone can relate to. I was waking up super early in the morning and writing a lot of music at, like, 5 a.m., so I just had a lot of quiet moments to kind of sort through emotional traumas and work through things.”
Now that he’s emerged from this cocoon of redefining the band, A Place to Bury Strangers have tour dates in Europe planned, and have been coming up with some of the most interesting music of their career. Ackermann plans on trying to release experimental formats, like seven-inch or eight-track. And despite his recent pain, he is excited for the new lineup.
“In some ways, it’s a little early to tell, since we just started to work together, and we’re just trying to figure out how the chemistry works,” he says. “But I think it’s going to be really cool with the new members of the band. A guy I grew up with and went to high school with, and played in bands with years ago, is now in the band [John Fedowitz], so it’s kind of this reuniting experience with the person I discovered music with. It brings me back to the feelings of when I first started a band, trying to set up tours. I think it’s an exciting moment, and who knows what’s going to happen.”
Check out APtBS’ latest single/video, “I Might Have”, below, and pick up a copy of Hologram and merch here (US) and here (UK/Europe).
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Images courtesy of A Place to Bury Strangers. Featured image credit: Heather Bickford.
