Californian punk shapeshifters Ceremony get loud at the world with one of their safest projects to date
For 20 years, Ceremony have been covering every blade of grass in the punk field, from their abrasive powerviolence beginnings on their 2006 debut Violence Violence, through their post-hardcore tidings on 2010’s Rohnert Park, and to the new wave lean of their last album, 2019’s In The Spirit World Now. They are not the kind of band to make the same album twice, and so it is again with Tell Me Your Dream.
This time out, they provide one of their most wide-ranging efforts to date. On the surface of it all, there’s a jangly sheen, the kind that has seen the likes of IDLES threaten the charts in recent years, but dig a little deeper and there is a healthy dose of raging anarcho-punk, or soaring post-hardcore flecks that underpin the record.
Opener Prograde starts with rumbling bass that remains steady and unchanging under Ross Farrar’s rallying yelps and a guitar line that feels thick with danger. Other Hells’ barked refrain of ‘It’s just us’ gives way to the infectious groove of Madness, whose central thesis of ‘Being young’s like being rich / you have this thing that everyone wants / and you waste it’ is stunningly effective.
After a while, the album settles into a pattern of rousing lyrics over Radio 6-friendly punk rock which might just be the perfect thing to be releasing right now. Guitarist Andy Nelson has said that, “Our intent is not to waste anyone’s time, and to encourage people to think about what they settle for”, which Tell Me Your Dream certainly accomplishes. But musically, in the wider Ceremony canon, it pales in comparison to what they’ve shown themselves to be capable of before.
Although it doesn’t even hit the half-hour mark, the record begins to drag toward the end, with Justify and 10 Planets feeling interchangeable. Death Destruction Mayhem will make listeners want to move though and should be a wonderful addition to their live shows. But ultimately, Tell Me Your Dream feels done by the halfway point.
There’s a lot to like about Tell Me Your Dream, but not a lot to love. It’s accomplished, it’s outspoken, but it’s comparatively safe compared to their older works.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: The Hives, IDLES, Protomartyr
Tell Me Your Dream is released on August 7 via Relapse.
