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May 21, 2015Beyond the approach that Ceremony is taking on The L-Shaped Man musically--a simmering post-punk sound that evokes the best of that genre’s late ‘70s/early ‘80s heyday--you can’t get away from the pain and despair that vocalist Ross Farrar experienced. He simply won’t let you.
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May 19, 2015The L-Shaped Man adds context to Zoo’s post-punk/hardcore hybrid, showing it for the transitional step that it was all along. On The L-Shaped Man, there’s no question of Ceremony’s intent or authenticity.
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May 18, 2015Ceremony have a strong handle on this style [Ian Curtis'], and after nearly a decade together, these new clothes fit them quite well.
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May 18, 2015They might not have returned to their hardcore roots, but Ceremony have veered off into an abyss of misery of despair again, and they’re back on track because of it.
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May 18, 2015The L-Shaped Man makes for a fascinating homage to the band that spawned a million t-shirts. How Ceremony will fit many of these new songs into their set lists without creating an odd pace remains to be seen, but the group has clearly attempted to showcase their veneration and done so with conviction.
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May 18, 2015There’s very little relief from heartache on The L-Shaped Man, but it’s such an emotionally naked record that its bleakness is oddly invigorating.
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May 28, 2015On the whole, L-Shaped Man feels like a boring exercise: a band performing post-punk idolatry (Root Of The World could pass for poppier Public Image Ltd.) instead of bothering to try anything new.
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May 19, 2015Unfortunately, the latest LP by Ceremony--who dabbled successfully in Strokes-style rock on 2012's excellent Zoo--is stifled by too much restraint.
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May 20, 2015Maybe it's good for a laugh, but only as a defense mechanism against the cringe-inducing experience of watching artistic expression abandon a heartbroken man at his lowest moment.