Ceremony - Zoo

Ah, Ceremony. Always liked the gents, and sure have seen a lot of them recently. Much like their new label mates Fucked Up, it continues to be a little weird to see them on Matador. I've always admired the Gotham toreadors thinking outside the box (i.e. signing Large Professor), harder for me is wrapping my head around their aesthetic post-Superchunk. The move has certainly precipitated a less hardcore Ceremony record than we had encountered previously on their Bridge 9 tenure. Not shocking, as Ceremony are definitely a weird bunch of dudes (meant in the best possible way). It's not every band that has a jailbird and a make-up artist in the same band, but Rohnert Park's finest are not your average bunch of crucial dudes.

Zoo definitely reps the West Coast, sporting some serious Rollins/Morris vocal action, backed with an interesting Agent Orange meets garage rock vibe. Production is a little spartan and reserved, but the Zoo tracks get a lot more teeth to them live. I get the impression the hardcore kids have their boxer briefs in a bit of a bunch over the direction of this record, but it definitely stands to garner them two fans for every one they have lost. Perhaps not the best first record to get into Ceremony with, but definitely one of the best this year.

R