Excavation becomes composition on ‘Rare And Deadly,’ a release that reframes the archive as something volatile rather than reflective. Drawn from a decade of recordings by Oliver Ackermann, this collection resists the usual narrative of refinement or progress, instead presenting A Place To Bury Strangers in a state of perpetual recalibration. These are not simply outtakes or discarded sketches; they are instances where ideas remain unresolved, where sound itself becomes the primary subject rather than a vehicle for something more polished.
“Song For Girl From Macedonia” opens with a surprising sense of fragility, its melodic core flickering beneath layers of interference that threaten to obscure it entirely. Ackermann’s instinct for contrast is immediately apparent, allowing moments of clarity to surface only to be swallowed again by distortion. The track functions as an entry point into the album’s logic, where beauty and abrasion are not opposing forces but intertwined states. The sprawl of “On The Wire” pushes that approach further, stretching past five minutes as if testing the limits of its own structure. The piece oscillates between propulsion and suspension, its central motif repeatedly destabilized by surges of noise that feel both intentional and barely contained. “Crash” follows with a more condensed impact, channeling a similar energy into a tighter frame without sacrificing intensity.
“Dead Inside” and “Out Of Place” form a kind of diptych, each exploring dislocation from different angles. The former leans into immediacy, its brevity amplifying a sense of urgency, while the latter allows space for its ideas to linger, creating a more immersive, if unsettled, atmosphere. Ackermann’s performances across these tracks emphasize process over perfection, foregrounding the act of creation itself. “Energy” and “Heartless” shift the focus toward rhythm, though never in a conventional sense. The pulse in “Energy” feels unstable, as though it might fracture at any moment, while “Heartless,” featuring Paul Jacobs on drums, introduces a more defined percussive framework. Jacobs’ contribution does not tame the track so much as redirect it, providing a counterpoint to Ackermann’s layered instrumentation and allowing the piece to expand in unexpected directions.
“Losing Time” stands as one of the collection’s most immersive moments, its extended runtime giving Ackermann room to explore repetition as a form of transformation. The track circles its central ideas without resolving them, creating a sense of suspension that is both hypnotic and disorienting. This approach continues into “Everyone’s The Same,” where a more direct structure is continually undercut by shifts in tone and texture. “Resurrected” operates as a centerpiece, its length and scope allowing for a deeper engagement with the album’s core themes. The track moves through multiple phases, each one suggesting a different potential direction before veering away, as if refusing to settle into a definitive form. “Acid Rain” condenses that expansiveness into a more immediate burst, its sonic palette dense yet sharply defined.
Closing track “Where Are We Now” brings the collection to a point of quiet ambiguity. Rather than offering resolution, it reflects the album’s broader ethos: an acceptance of incompletion as a valid state. The question posed by the title lingers, unanswered, as the music recedes. What distinguishes ‘Rare And Deadly’ is not just the material itself but the framework in which it is presented. By dispersing different tracklists across formats, Ackermann undermines the idea of a fixed, authoritative version, aligning the release strategy with the instability of the recordings. Each iteration becomes a partial view, reinforcing the sense that this archive is not meant to be definitive but exploratory.
Across these twelve tracks, Ackermann emerges as both architect and documentarian, capturing moments where intention and accident converge. The absence of a full band presence for much of the record places his process at the forefront, while Jacobs’ appearance on “Heartless” offers a glimpse of how collaboration can alter that dynamic without resolving it. ‘Rare And Deadly’ ultimately stands as a study in creative flux, a reminder that the most compelling work often exists just outside the boundaries of completion.
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