L-Shaped Man

L-Shaped Man

Ceremonyâ€™s fifth studio album, The L-Shaped Man, uses singer Ross Farrarâ€™s recent breakup as a platform to explore loneliness and emotional weariness, but it is by no means a purely sad album. Rather than look inward, Farrar uses his experience to write about what it means to go through something heavy and come out the other side a different person. In order to tell Farrarâ€™s story, Ceremony have almost completely stripped back the propulsive hardcore of their previous records, turning every angry outburst into simmering despair. â€œWeâ€™ve always tried to be minimalists in writing, even if itâ€™s loud or fast or abrasive,â€ says lead guitarist Anthony Anzaldo. â€œItâ€™s really intense when I hear it. Not in a way where you turn everything up to ten. Things are so bare, youâ€™re holding this one note for so long and you donâ€™t now where itâ€™s goingâ€”to me, thatâ€™s intensity.â€ That intensity is apparent on â€œExit Fears,â€ the first full song on the record. It meticulously pairs Justin Davisâ€™ loping bassline, which pulls the track along, with Anzaldoâ€™s icy, minimal guitar work. It brings to mind some alternate version of Joy Division that hasnâ€™t quite lost all hope. It gets close to exploding, but instead plays the shadows, never quite rising above a nervous simmer. The sound is abetted by producer John Reis, who honed his sound in seminal bands like Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, and Hot Snakes. Much of the gravelly aggression he experimented with in those bands is present on The L-Shaped Man.
Country USA
Brand Matador
Manufacturer Matador Records Imp
Binding Audio CD
ItemPartNumber 16946637
Model 34049749
ReleaseDate 2015-05-19
UnitCount 1
Format Import
UPCs 744861105725
EANs 0744861105725

Country	USA
Brand	Matador
Manufacturer	Matador Records Imp
Binding	Audio CD
ItemPartNumber	16946637
Model	34049749
ReleaseDate	2015-05-19
UnitCount	1
Format	Import
UPCs	744861105725
EANs	0744861105725

You might also like...