Ceremony - ZOO :One Bloggers Opinion

The California band Ceremony has been one of my favorite newer bands since I first stumbled upon their cover Red C’s “Pressures On” (one of my all-time favorite punk songs) off of their 2006 brutal debut album Violence Violence. From then on I have watched the bands progress over two more albums plus a few eps and a covers collection, even catching them live a few times they came through town.

When I heard the band signed to Matador Records I was pretty psyched. Even though Ceremony’s previous label Bridge 9 Records was a strong force in the industry I always thought being on a hardcore record label would hold back the possibilities of what this band could be come. The 2010 album Rohnert Park already showed serious signs of Ceremony expanding on the hardcore battery of their two previous records, showing the influences of post-punk groups like The Fall, Joy Division, (early) Cure or Wire. Plus a much larger label like Matador will allow Ceremony exposure too many listeners way outside fans of hardcore music.

The new album, the John Goodmanson produced Zoo is set to be released on next week. Luckily I was able to track down advance copy so I can tell you my opinions about the album which will be annoying my neighbors for weeks to come.

The first track “Hysteria” (actually releases as a single in January) blasts off with a few monster guitar riffs and thundering drum roll, letting you knows the band is back. Then the beat gets steady and Ross Farrar’s biting vocals come in. With its great chorus and gang “oohoohooh”s towards the end it's definitely a great way to get the ball rolling, especially when it is followed by Track 2 “Citizen” with Ross’s manic vocals over the twin guitar attack.

On Track 3 “Repeating the Circle” the tempo gets slowed down a little and you can hear the band's Joy Division influence come out.

When track 4 (the next single) “World Blue” comes on it definitely becomes apparent that the guitars on Zoo are looser then on past albums. Also producer Goodmanson, who in the past has worked with some of my favorites (ie:Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, The Treepeople) seems to have toned the bass down a bit. This allows the songs to be more varied sounding and not just pummeling like the pre Rohnert Park albums.

Track 5 “Quarantine” has a little bit of a swagger going on reminiscent of The Cure’s “Meathook” but a lot more upbeat.The song actually has me dancing down the street, in my living room or wherever I am when the song comes over my headphones.

On Ceremony’s cover collection ep of some of the bands biggest influences, one of the songs done was “Pink Flag” by Wire.  You can definitely here an (early) Wire influence shining through the guitars ands vocals of Track 6 "Brace Yourself".

After another rager, Track 8 “Hotel” slows it down with some Jesus Lizard style guitar and vocals. When it returns on track 10 “Nosebleed”, its make me wonder if Steve Albini would have been a better fit as producer over Goodmanson.

Track 11 “Community” gets upbeat in the same vein as “Quarantine” but instead the swagger is replaced with a bounce. Like track 5, this one always has me dancing and my head bopping during  the morning subway ride to work,

The Joy Division influenced (Ceremony after all is named after one of their songs) comes out again for the albums closing track “Video”. The slower, very bass heavy song with its early Pixies style surf guitar is the perfect closer for the album.

The only downside to the record is on almost every song Ross Farrar's vocals have a bullhorn effect going on. I'm not sure whether this was the band's intention or the result of Goodmanson's production job, either way the the effect would have a little more appeal if it was used on maybe just a few of the songs and not of all 12 Tracks.

Zoo definitely proves to be a great progression for Ceremony. There are some explosive raging tracks showing Ceremony does not wish to totally abandon their hardcore background but also a few toned down songs  and a few post punk sounding songs too.

Judging by insane crowd reaction at the sold out show at Le Poisson Rouge (seen in the video below) a few weeks back, Ceremony has already built a larger fan base since the much smaller show at The Cake Shop last year. When Matador Records unleashes Zoo on to the world next week there will be no end to how out of control it will grow.