Surprisingly, I’ve had a few…
New-York based band A Place To Bury Strangers release their new single/video, “Bad Idea,” from their forthcoming album, Synthesizer, to be released digitally October 4th and on vinyl October 25th via Dedstrange. Following lead single “Disgust,” described as “one hell of a feedback-ridden ride” (Consequence), and the “addictive” (New Noise) single “You Got Me,” “Bad Idea” showcases the raw creativity of bassist John Fedowitz. “He came to the studio with a simple looping drum beat, thinking he didn’t have any good ideas—thus, the song was his ‘bad idea,’” says frontman Oliver Ackermann. “We each penned some lines on paper, and he sang the ones that resonated. After a few instrumental passes, the recording was complete. The result is an innovative track born from spontaneous collaboration and a touch of self-doubt, turned into something uniquely captivating.”
The video director for “Bad Idea,” Nick Kulp says, “While touring with the band doing visuals and lighting since 2022, I’ve been lucky enough to experience the band perform new songs and see the development of Synthesizer. In 2023, they started performing ‘Bad Idea’ and I was immediately hooked. It’s one of those live songs that really just takes you along for the ride and is really fun to do visuals and lights for. As the year went on we started talking about videos and elements for the new album and I was approached to do a video for this song and was immediately happy and grateful. I’ve been filming the band on tour and in their practice studio since December of 2023 and have been taking my Hi8 camera on the road and filming the shows. I tried my best to capture as much of the chaos of seeing the band live that I could — it’s an intense journey!
Watch the Video for “Bad Idea”
Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for you to own, too, if you buy the record on vinyl. You can watch Ackermann demonstrate how to play the circuit board and functional synth album cover here. In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, to never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point.
The writing sessions for Synthesizer started in 2022 in the band’s Queens studio, shortly after the release of See Through You. A Place to Bury Strangers re-formed with a new lineup, Oliver Ackermann still at the helm, now featuring friends John and Sandra Fedowitz. Synthesizer very much feels like a record of reinvention. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also build a new instrument, thus again the synth in question.
The resulting record is one that is romantic, colorful, loud as hell. This is a band that is meant to be witnessed in a live setting, where the songs take on a new energy in the presence of a crowd. Ackermann founded the storied DIY space (and now effects pedal factory) Death By Audio. DBA, as a venue, had a collaborative, creative spirit of chaos and collectivity. That essence appears all over the band’s work, and Synthesizer is a raw collection of songs, wild and loud and fucked up just like the instrument itself.
Watch the Video For “You Got Me”
A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
Sat. Sep. 21 – Groningen, NL @ Vicefest
Mon. Sep. 23 – London, UK @ The Shacklewell Arms
Tue. Sep. 24 – Wed. Sep. 25 – London, UK @ No90 Live Hackney Wick
Thu. Sep. 26 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute %
Fri. Sep. 27 – Dublin, IE @ The Grand Social %
Sat. Sep. 28 – Belfast, IE @ Oh Yeah %
Sun. Sep. 29 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo %
Mon. Sep. 30 – Bedford UK @ Esquire %
Thu. Oct. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Metropol [Record Release Show] %
Fri. Oct. 4 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen %
Sat. Oct. 5 – Oslo, NO @ Goldie %
Sun. Oct. 6 – Gothenburg, SE @ Fangelset %
Mon. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan %
Wed. Oct 9 – Wroclaw, PL @ Lacznik %
Thu. Oct. 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy %
Fri. Oct. 11 – Poznan, PL @ 2progi %
Sat. Oct. 12 – Bmo, CZ @ Kabinet Muz %
Sun. Oct 13 – Jena, DE KuBa Jena %
Fri. Oct. 25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat &
Sat. Oct. 26 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings &
Sun. Oct. 27 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle &
Mon. Oct. 28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl &
Wed. Oct. 30 – Houston, TX @ White Oak &
Thu. Oct. 31 – Austin, TX @ Levitation &
Sat. Nov. 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
Sun. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom #
Mon. Nov. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH Psyched Fest #
Thu. Nov. 7 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #
Fr. Nov. 8 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival ^
Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
