Score: 2/5 stars 
The newest album by Brooklyn noise rock group A Place to Bury Strangers is that exactly — noise. Titled “Transfixiation,” APTBS’s fourth album falls flat. Despite the genre, the band’s use of noise comes off as overzealous and distracting from the music itself.
Following the more structured album “Worship,” the band comes off as angry, with no ambition to smartly guide the aggression. As a result, the songs on “Transfixiation” fail to rise above and beyond any other ordinary rock songs.
A major issue with “Transfixiation” is its propensity for rhythm changes. This is usually an effective way to keep listeners on their toes while sustaining interest in songs that may be too long. Instead, the album’s drumming and basslines are all over the place. Lead singer Oliver Ackermann’s lyrics are drowned out by feedback, which is apparently meant to be implemented as ambient accompaniment.
Songs like “Deeper” and “I’m so Clean” feel interminable. When it is actually possible to hear Ackermann’s singing, he comes off like a Joe Strummer impersonator in a The Clash cover band. With “Transfixiation,” it’s difficult to tell when one song ends and another begins. Unfortunately, this flow from track to track is not the same kind of fluidity a listener wants in their music.
It is hard to place where exactly APTBS draws its influence. As a noise rock band, it’s surprising to hear “Transfixiation” and hear the punk elements of Sex Pistols and the post-rock playing style that sounds eerily that of U2.
The final song, “I Will Die,” starts out quietly. However, the silence doesn’t last long. The song quickly turns into a barrage of feedback and overamplified vocals. Ackermann is incomprehensible, his guitar indistinguishable from Robi Gonzalez’s rattling drumming. Despite the band’s reputation for producing a “wall” of sound, listeners are instead pounded with individual bricks.
Overall, “Transfixiation” does very little to demonstrate the potential in a group of probably very talented musicians. Essentially, the album feels like a waste. Its stagnant movement does little to help the group’s stunted songwriting. The band is named A Place to Bury Strangers and after listening, a smart music fan should be looking for a place to bury this album.