"I sit here waiting as time keeps slipping away..." By 2009, APTBS had gotten the Psychocandy out of their system 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 (frontman Oliver 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. Red vinyl with printed inner sleeve released by Mute.

• red colored vinyl
• printed inner sleeve
• limited edition
• original release year: 2009
• music label: Mute 2022

reviewed by sakura incident 08/2018