Enigmatic and Ecstatic
A long tent with open sides packed with slightly damp people probably isn’t the best place to sample A Place To Bury Strangers’ indie psychedelic rock sound, but the band don’t let the slightly lax sound stop them and put on an energetic and committed show. ‘Missing You’ sounds rather more abrasive than usual but captures the audience’s imagination, with strobe lighting adding some extra interest to instrumental tunes. ‘Ocean’ still sounds brilliant with a mix of very heavy rhythm and spiralling, wild guitars overtaking the crowd, although the vocals themselves aren’t clear. A smoke machine adds to the ecstatic crescendo at the end of the band’s set, which stretches to 25 minutes: far too short for an APBTS show, but a lot longer than many of the other sets on the Second Stage today. The band prove themselves to be real performers as they pull out all the stops despite murky sound quality which would put many experimental bands off.