Ceremony : " In the Spirit World Now"

This is very different. But musically miles of growth. I guess it is going to depend on how much you want these guys to be a punk. I guess there is some 70s punk in there. They have always had some post-punk in their sound. Now there is way more post than punk. Synths play a larger role. Female vocals crop up. There are also some funky groove on the title track. " Further I Was" reminds me of Devo. They drone of the angular beat of " Presaging the End" . Which is a weird song to be the lead single off this album when the first three songs are a great deal catchier. By the broad definition even with the touches of new wave "I Will Say Goodbye" is punk. In fact if you think of the Clash as punk you will think these guys are punk. I do not think the Clash is punk. "We Can Be Free" rides the line between punk and post-punk. It's very upbeat.

The vocals have really improved. I think this gives them a wider rang of genres to flirt with. The bass player is more focused on groove than riding the tension. The hint of Devo I hear earlier is really dialed up on "Years of Love". This album is really well produced. A rawer mix might might bring out their punk side more, but I am all for this production , as I am not invested in them being punk, I just want good music. They get more aggressive on "Never Gonna Die Now" . I had to give " I Want More" a second listen to form an an opinion of it. It's fun punk tinged new wave or new wave tinged punk. "From Another Age" pogos along a similar as the previous song.

"Calming Water"is another staccato bouncing song, like the bulk of this album. I can hear some influence from Stone Roses in the ambiance floating around it.  This album seems to grow on me with each listen, so I might get used to how they have changed and by the end of the year be so in love with it, as for how I feel about it right now I will give it an, 8.5, mainly because a great deal of the songs have a similar vibe and this album as a whole is not angry or dark,   I think it is odd this album is being released on Relapse, who normally puts out harder stuff. It gets dropped on August 23

23rd. >