"I sit here waiting as time keeps slipping away..." By 2009, Oliver Ackermann and crew had gotten the Psychocandy out of their system (APTBS' self-titled debut was just reissued on GITD vinyl) and were ready to buckle down and focus on finding their own sound. There’s an emphasis on crafting great songs with discernible lyrics on Exploding Head, and musically, it’s closer to Depeche Mode or New Order than J&MC. But this is still the loudest band in New York, so of course there’s still that omnipresent layer of pedal fuzz draped over the whole mix (Ackermann’s company Death By Audio builds boutique guitar pedals with a clientele list as wide reaching as Lightning Bolt, Nine Inch Nails and U2). “Slipping Away” is the centerpiece of the album, and listening back almost ten years later, it's a candidate for the most resonating song in their entire body of work, but don’t sleep on “Smile When You Smile,” “In Your Heart” or the title track, either. Black vinyl pressing with printed inner sleeve released by Mute.

• black vinyl pressing
• printed inner sleeve
• music label: Mute 2009

reviewed by sakura incident 08/2018