Three cheers for NYC darlings A Place to Bury Strangers! Though astute readers of this blog may have heard hints and quick quips of the band mentioned across countless back entries, there's an explosion of news and interest surrounding them today, as they've just been confirmed as an opener for Nine Inch Nails' upcoming summer tour. The band was hand-picked alongside Crystal Castles, Deerhunter, White Williams, and Does It Offend You, Yeah, to namedrop the other indie-centric acts slated to support NIN's summer excursions.

That's not to say that A Place to Bury Strangers haven't developed a significant amount of interest beforehand, as several SXSW appearances and opening slots supporting the Jesus and Mary Chain, Battles, Holy Fuck, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre have brought the band to high attention with their fuzzy, aggressive brand of darkwave, brandishing them as "the loudest band in New York." Their intense live performances call to mind the experimentation and electronic pulse of Swans and early Wax Trax! recordings, while their fuzzed out overtones suggest devout worship of My Bloody Valentine and the Telescopes.

In testament to the band's sheer sonic force, they obliterated the amplifiers at Crash Mansion just before my band took the stage, much to our hilarity and chagrin. I can even remember a time long before then when their crowds were sparse, the only attendees being the band's girlfriends, management, and myself, so it's hard not to feel like a proud parent when this Brooklyn based outfit lands gigs such as these. Meanwhile, the band garnered tons of attention for their debut release, 2007's self-titled compilation on Killer Pimp records, which gathers ten of their previously self-released recordings onto disc or vinyl, whichever format you prefer...

In further A Place to Bury Strangers news, the band will take to Europe shortly before they join Nine Inch Nails down south, and a limited boxset of 7'' singles is slated for release in early May via Vacancy Records (I've already preordered mine, and I suggest you do the same). For any devout New York City fan with a little travel money in the bank, the upcoming string of A Place to Bury Strangers tour dates can be found below, along with a live rendition of 'Gimme Acid,' recorded last year at Union Pool. If you look closely, you can see yours truly thrashing away in the front. Was I wearing earplugs? Goodness, no.

5.7.08- London, UK: Barfly
5.8.08- London, UK: The Legion
5.9.08- London, UK: Club NME
5.11.08- Camber Sands, UK: ATP v Pitchfork
5.12.08- London, UK: Sonic Cathedral
5.13.08- London, UK: Madame Jo Jo's
5.15.08- Hull, UK: The Welly
5.16.08- Brighton, UK: The Great Escape Fesitval
5.17.08- Leeds, UK: Nastyfest
5.19.08- Glasgow, Scotland: The Captain's Rest
5.20.08- Nottingham, UK: Sonic Cathedral
5.21.08- Birmingham, UK: Jug of Ale
5.22.08- Luton, UK: Club NME- Sub Club
5.24.08- Paris, France: Noveau Casino
5.26.08- Amsterdam: Paradiso
5.28.08- Brussels- Witloof Bar-Botanique
5.29.08- Barcelona, Spain: Primavera
8.15.08- Oklahoma City, OK: Ford Center
8.16.08- Houston, TX: Toyota Center
8.18.08- Dallas, TX: American Airlines Center
8.20.08- St. Louis, MO: Scottrade Center