Tristan Kneschke: From its first moments, we’re aware that this video may all be in the protagonist’s unconscious dreamstate – and what a scary place that can be. When even a concert isn’t a place of tranquility, something must truly be wrong. Still, Strangers’ noisy music is the perfect soundtrack for a beautiful nightmare. [7/10]
Steve Horowitz: The goth sensibility here doesn’t seem very dreaded. The narrator may repeat “Never Coming Back” to metal on metal feedback, but there’s a governor on the electric saw. No one is in danger here. This may make the song more palatable for a general audience, but there is not much reason for anyone to seek this song out. This would work best as a soundtrack for a hardware store than a song on the radio. [3/10]
Adriane Pontecorvo: Cover your eardrums and send the children inside: this is harsh, grating dissonance of the highest order, and it’s not meant for lightweights. A Place To Bury Strangers buzzes and growls through “Never Coming Back” with no regard for noise ordinances, and it is, as is so often the case, a love-it-or-hate-it kind of situation. There’s no middle ground with a group like this, and more power to it. [8/10]
Robert Evers: Very cool, inspired music video directed by singer Oliver Ackermann, reminiscent of some of the better low budget horror to come out of the indie scene the past few years. Like Lily Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” or Mickey Keating’s “Darling”. The song is evocative of Suicide or Joy Division. [7/10]
John Garratt: The slow-motion scream at the beginning was the best part. Actually, it was the only good part. Truthfully, it wasn’t even that – it was just the only thing I noticed. [2/10]
SCORE: 5.40