Album Review: Tell Me Your Dream by Ceremony
Album artwork for Tell Me Your Dream by Ceremony
Their first album in 7 years and 20 years after releasing the highly acclaimed debut “Violence Violence,” Ceremony return with their next instalment of politically-charged self-expression “Tell Me Your Dream.” Laden with groove, post punk and new wave influence, Ceremony continue to do what they do best by refusing the confinements of the white lines of their lane, throwing caution to the wind and making it look effortless.
With two decades under their belt it’s expected a band’s sound would change and Ceremony have never shied away from experimenting on how to push the envelope. Rather than chasing the voracity and pace of “Violence Violence” or the art-punk elements of “Zoo,” they’re cruising into familiar post-punk territory with flashes of “Rohnert Park”and “The L-Shaped Man”while borrowing the odd synth-pop loop that would fit nicely into “In The Spirit World Now.”
“Tell Me Your Dream” on the outset sounds like it’s going to be a culmination of their entire discography. A penultimate run of 10 tracks that’ll go down in history combining the best parts of two decades, however saying they missed the mark throughout wouldn’t be fair but the choices of what they cherry picked from past releases is both inspiring and mystifying.
Prograde, immediately kicks off with an unassuming, rumbling bass line with shimmering cymbal hits as we’re teased by a key-jangling guitar lead that sweeps through peaks of troughs of treble-ridden notes that bend at the end of each bar for dramatic effect. It’s a sophisticated and stylish introduction that would make most Radio 6 dads consider locking-in and putting down the phone they’re using to photograph a lesser known indie rock band’s female bassist one too many times. There’s Fugazi and Joy Division in there that’s begging to be explored, and thankfully is.
Old heads and ball knowers are informed from the get-go that this album could be for them.
We careen through tracks like Other Hells paying tribute to the misfortune of listening to Idles for the first time and showing us what it would be like if they wrote good music, and Madness that leans into the UK’s indie sleaze scene of the late 2000s. Bass licks that exude style and frantic guitar leads, Madness is an unlikely standout and it knows it.
Halfway through, Deep Down Where I Belong is a crowd pleaser. Heavy on the repetition, heavy on the crowd participation, it’s a track that you wouldn’t expect in a Ceremony set but would go down unexpectedly well at the likes of Sound & Fury and Glastonbury. It’s matchless and somewhat insane to have a 3-note keyboard lead like that take centre-stage but it works beautifully and it’s inspiring moments like that which bring contrasting demographics together in this album.
Beyond the halfway point of “Tell Me Your Dream” we reach a glaring criticism; we’ve experienced everything this album has to give despite having 5 tracks to go. Exceptions lie in the likes of lead single Death Destruction Mayhem that channels a fraction of the anarcho-punk vibe we know and love Ceremony for while leaning further into UK alt-rock. It’s a track made for stage dives and dogpiles and crowds would sing “Fighting makes you feel strong, killing really turns you on.” into the face of the person next to them. Unlike Deep Down Where I Belong, it’s a track you’d expect in the latest Ceremony set. It tackles society’s fixation on violence and the false sense of power felt by the elite and law enforcement. It’s confrontational, it’s powerful. It’s everything a Ceremony track should be yet it’s shoehorned between lacklustre tracks Justify and 10 Planets which stunt its sting and momentum.
The first half of Tell Me Your Dream is filled with the aforementioned inspiring choices, whereas the latter is the mystifying choices. The energy from the first 5 tracks is lost though momentarily regained, it’s cruel to call it a spiral but it’s noticeable how the lyrical themes remain poignant and on-point with the band’s hard-hitting yet emotional political and societal drive, yet the music that accompanies such passion lacks in comparison.
We’re out of steam by the halfway point and because of that it’s understandable why some may checkout early. It’s a front-loaded album with a lead single that’s 1 of the 3 heavier tracks which has the potential to have the listener approaching this album as a throwback record of sorts. A predisposition exists there that could grow to disappointment unless the listener recognises Ceremony as the multi-faceted band they are and not just Hate5Six Kersed clips on social media.
FFO: Fugazi, Joy Division, Fontaines D.C, Discharge
SCORE: 6/10
Tell Me Your Dream is out on all streaming platforms on Friday 7th August, releases via Relapse Records.
