They are not called NYC’s loudest band for no reason. With each new offering, A Place to Bury Strangers continue to reveal new facets of their creativity, channeling their restless energy in striking and unexpected ways.
On January 16th, 2026, for the duration of a single song and a short stretch of track, the band took over a New York City subway car and turned it into a moving stage for a raucous rendition of Acid Rain, the second single from their upcoming rarities album Rare and Deadly.
The moment unfolds like a sudden jolt of urban theatre, as the train pushes over the Williamsburg Bridge and slips toward the Lower East Side. Instead of following a planned narrative, the band leans into the chaos of the setting, letting their industrial thrum and sheets of feedback merge with the metallic grind of the subway itself. Those sounds, caught on the fly, surrounded by commuters who never signed up to be part of the recording, give the track a raw, unfiltered charge.
Reflecting on the track and era, Oliver Ackerman says, “Cruelty felt not just normalized, but weaponized. Watching people in power openly coerce others into silence, compliance, and violence was horrifying, and still is. What shook me most was how casual it all felt, how easily people turned their heads while others were being crushed.”
In the song’s opening lines, Ackerman sings: “Cover your eyes // Cover your face // Walk in line // Don’t embrace.”
He continues: “The chanting at the beginning was recorded during the George Floyd protests in Manhattan and Brooklyn, real voices, real streets, real fear mixed with hope. For a moment, it felt like maybe people would finally wake up and refuse this racist machinery. But here we are, still watching detention centers, modern slavery, and countless other atrocities continue under different names. ‘Acid Rain’ is rage, grief, and disbelief all colliding at once, the sound of watching history repeat itself while knowing exactly how wrong it is.”
The new rarities and demos album Rare and Deadly arrives April 3rd, 2026 via Dedstrange.
Photo by Heather Bickford
ZR