The fuzz that coats each guitar shriek on “Ego Death” feels like it can strip the paint off walls and force the fillings out of my teeth.įar and away the best thing about this album is the immense closing track, “I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadows of Your Heart.” It combines all the catchiness and intensity that permeates their music and condenses it into the definitive APTBS song. With Ackermann’s expertise in effects pedals, it is little surprise that the sounds used here are quite unique. What stands out most on Exploding Head is the seriously blistering guitar work. Of course, all of this is delivered with a generous dose of energy and the performances on this album are nothing short of electric. Cold, uneasy guitar stabs punctuate stark rhythms as Oliver Ackermann’s fraught lyrics paint a picture of isolation. The songs “Lost Feeling” and “Everything Always Goes Wrong” take the dark heart of Joy Division and transplant it into a still living body. The rest of the album represents a big jump in both quality and range for the group. The guitar solo on “In Your Heart” bears a striking resemblance to the one on “Missing You” from their first album but my qualms were quickly allayed. Initially, I feared that the band was going to be retreading old ground on Exploding Head. Under the distortion and feedback are solid songs that are as infectious as the H1N1 but no way as unpleasant. They have further cemented their position as New York’s loudest band but they have moved beyond simple volume wars. With this follow-up, they have done their songs more justice in the studio. APTBS' debut album was a collection of different EPs and singles recorded over a number of sessions as such it was a bit rough and ready in terms of recording quality.