Ceremony - Birds (2014)
Artist....: Ceremony
Album.....: Birds
Type......: EP
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 05
Genre.....: Noise
Label.....: N/A
Catalogue#: N/A
Encoder...: N/A
Quality...: 320k/ 44.kHz / Stereo
URL.......: http://www.beatport.com/release/birds/1298415
Tracklist:
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01 birds 04:39
02 until forever 02:36
03 it's not you 03:23
04 let me in 03:06
05 deep breath 03:44
Total:40.11 MB / 17:28
Release Notes:
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opus.fm...
First off, this does not concern the acclaimed punk/hardcore band named
Ceremony. (There was some confusion when I tweeted about this last week.)
No, this is about the latest from the shoegaze/noise-pop band led by
John Fedowitz (formerly of Skywave). But if youÆve listened to any of
this Ceremony's output, you know they're pretty hardcore, too. For the
last decade or so, Ceremony have carved out a singular niche in the
shoegaze genre ù and theyÆve done so with massive blasts of feedback
and guitar noise.
Ceremony doesnÆt bring anything new to the shoegaze formula; rather,
they take the genreÆs hallmarks and just turn them up way past 11.
Ceremony loves to bury their songs under mountains of guitar fuzz and
feedback and lace them with brittle drum programming. Meanwhile,
FedowitzÆs emotionless vocals ring out in the distance as if captured
from a broken down AM radio or phoned in to the studio. It all blends
into one amorphous head-splitting mass (which is doubly true on
headphones) that seems like it should be distinctly unfriendly to the
listener. So why subject oneself to something so grating?
First, thereÆs something cathartic about the experience, about making
your way through the storm and coming out on the maelstromÆs other side
(mostly) unscathed ù especially when it sounds like your speakers or
headphones could rupture at any moment. Second, if youÆre able to peer
past the wall of noise, youÆll find that, much like The Jesus & Mary
Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Flying Saucer Attack, CeremonyÆs songs
are pop songs at their heart. Unabashedly romantic and sweetly melodic
pop songs, to be specific.
Somewhere, beneath all of the ear-blistering noise and speaker-shredding
feedback, Fedowitz intones ôJust a dream I have of you/In the sky it
felt so true/Noone will ever take it awayà Our feet wonÆt touch the
gound/Noone will come between us todayö (ôBirdsö), laments the loss of a
youthful romance (ôUntil Foreverö), and professes ôIÆve never had someone
like you before/IÆve never had someone in my life like you beforeö
(ôDeep Breathö). Or at least thatÆs what I think he sings.
ItÆs frequently impossible to make out FedowitzÆs vocals amidst the sonic
onslaught; you might catch a stray syllable here or there or a few snippets
of vocalization but then theyÆre washed away by another wave upon wave
of feedback. ThereÆs already something distant, alien, and mysterious about
the music, thanks to FedowitzÆs vocal style, and the constant barrage of
feedback only heightens that sensation, that enigmatic experience.