It’s been a four year wait since hardcore-turned-post-punk band Ceremony released their last album L-Shaped Man, the follow-up to their game-changing record Zoo. Today they’ve announced their latest album, which will be called In The Spirit World Now and be released on August 23.
They’ve also left their long-time label Matador, where the band shed their hardcore/powerviolence tendencies and became a full-fledged art-rock band. It’s an interesting shift as they’ve signed with extreme music label Relapse Records — but don’t expect a return to the sounds of Violence Violence or even Rohnert Park. Instead they continue their evolution with the latest single from their upcoming album “Turn Away The Bad Thing.” The band’s sixth album was recorded by Will Yip and mixed by Ben Greenberg, who combined forces to balance pop sensibility with noise-rock influence to make In The Spirit World Now.
After a drum and bass intro, the first sounds the listener hears is a fuzzed-out synthesizer, a sign of the ’80s-worshiping sounds about to come forth. About halfway through the track everything breaks down into a slow shuffle with angelic female vocals leading over dramatic, building instrumentals until it crescendos into a chorus of lead singer Ross Farrar begging “Please turn away the bad thing” repeatedly. The song’s video was directed by Muted Windows and features a cast of dancers moving to the music in front of multi-colored backdrops. Like the music itself, the visuals provide a sense of nostalgia for decades past.
In The Spirit World Now track list
1. “Turn Away the Bad Thing”
2. “In the Spirit World Now”
3. “Further I Was”
4. “/”
5. “Presaging The End”
6. “Say Goodbye to Them”
7. “We Can Be Free”
8. “//”
9. “Years of Love”
10. “Never Gonna Die Now”
11. “I Want More”
12. “From Another Age”
13. “///”
14. “Calming Water”
The band has also announced a handful of upcoming tour dates. They’ll be playing the Western United States in June and August, with a record release show in Los Angeles at The Regent. Joining them on the June and July dates is hard-rock influenced punk band Sheer Mag, who also recently announced a new album. Keep an eye out for more dates after the record drops.
Ceremony Summer 2019 Tour Dates
06/26 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater #
06/28 – Reno, NV – Holland Project #
06/29 – Las Vegas, NV – American Legion Hall #
06/30 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory #
07/03 – San Diego, CA – Irenic #
07/05 – Fresno, CA – Strummers #
08/23 – San Francisco, CA – August Hall !
08/24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent !
# – w/ Sheer Mag
! – Record Release Show w/ Special Guests TBA
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