Are you exactly the same person you were five years ago? Same values, same perspective on things? Can’t see it. Ceremony aren’t the same, either. ‘Rohnert Park’ is a modern classic, but half a decade later its creators are in a different place altogether.
‘The L-Shaped Man’ is a curveball, even considering the revisions that occurred on ‘Zoo’. The furious, sub-60 second blasts of the band’s early days disappeared into the distance a while ago, with the snotty edge of ‘Rohnert Park’ following in short order. In keeping with their name, this is Ceremony’s post-punk rebirth, and things get pitch black.
This is an album about loss, change and lingering hurt. Ross Farrar picks through the embers of a relationship, the bark of old refined into a black-hearted baritone.
"Can you measure the loss?" he sings on The Separation, almost defeated. The shift suits his voice and, to repurpose a classic hardcore trick, the album’s guitar lines offer a counterpoint to its bleak atmospherics and provide a melodic edge.
The Joy Division thing hangs heavy in the air, but Ceremony’s thematic preoccupation balances out some of the more obvious nods to that band’s oft-imitated sonic palette. It’s not a surprise to find Ceremony indulging one of their big influences in this way, and there’s certainly a sense that some of the murky soundscapes here are born from necessity rather than affectation.
‘The L-Shaped Man’ will infuriate many of the band’s devotees and doubtless cut a few loose. The threads connecting the band that they were and the band that they are now are few, but the intensity remains. It’ll creep up on you rather than bludgeon you, but it’ll get you all the same.
Ceremony Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun August 09 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Bodega Social Club
Tue August 11 2015 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Wed August 12 2015 - MANCHESTER Sound Control
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