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: ---------- 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: -------------- 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.