For the bulk of the last six years, Bay Area kids Ceremony specialized in fast, brutal hardcore, but last year's celebrated Rohnert Park threw everybody for a loop with its nods to '70s post-punk. The record caught the attention of hardcore kids and critics alike, and clearly impressed some major players in the indie biz. The group have just announced that they've signed on with influential imprint Matador Records.
A blog post confirms that following a series of releases on Bridge 9, the band will be moving to Matador for their next release. The label is looking forward to distributing the disc, whether it's punk, hardcore or whatever.
"We've too much respect for what Ross (Farrar, vocals), Anthony (Anzaldo, guitar), Andy (Nelson), Justin (Davis, bass) and Jake (Casarotti, drums) have already done and too much optimism over where they're going than to raise the spectre of post-hardcore," Matador posted. "For starters, that would suggest we think hardcore is done & dusted. It would imply there's a label mandate about Ceremony's next creative move. Both of these things are untrue. There's gonna be a new album recorded this autumn, released in the first half of next year, and beyond that, we expect to be as surprised as you (albeit a bit earlier)."
The band are set to hit the studio sometime this fall, with a release to come sometime early next year.
Ceremony have one more release left in them for longtime label Bridge 9 though. Their swansong for the imprint, Covers, is a six-song EP that tackles a number of old favourites. From Wire to Pixies to Vile, the band put their spin on the classics. A press release says that the record "pays homage to a few of the artists that have influenced Ceremony along the way and continue to inspire them." Check out the tracklisting below. Bridge 9 will release Covers on August 9.
The act will also be hitting the road for some U.S. and European dates, which you can check out here.
Covers:
1. "Public Opinion" (Urban Waste)
2. "Nimrod's Son" (Pixies)
3. "Holocaust" (Crisis)
4. "American Society" (Originally by Eddie and the Subtitles, but referencing L7 version)
5. "5 to 10" (Vile)
6. "Pink Flag" (Wire)
A blog post confirms that following a series of releases on Bridge 9, the band will be moving to Matador for their next release. The label is looking forward to distributing the disc, whether it's punk, hardcore or whatever.
"We've too much respect for what Ross (Farrar, vocals), Anthony (Anzaldo, guitar), Andy (Nelson), Justin (Davis, bass) and Jake (Casarotti, drums) have already done and too much optimism over where they're going than to raise the spectre of post-hardcore," Matador posted. "For starters, that would suggest we think hardcore is done & dusted. It would imply there's a label mandate about Ceremony's next creative move. Both of these things are untrue. There's gonna be a new album recorded this autumn, released in the first half of next year, and beyond that, we expect to be as surprised as you (albeit a bit earlier)."
The band are set to hit the studio sometime this fall, with a release to come sometime early next year.
Ceremony have one more release left in them for longtime label Bridge 9 though. Their swansong for the imprint, Covers, is a six-song EP that tackles a number of old favourites. From Wire to Pixies to Vile, the band put their spin on the classics. A press release says that the record "pays homage to a few of the artists that have influenced Ceremony along the way and continue to inspire them." Check out the tracklisting below. Bridge 9 will release Covers on August 9.
The act will also be hitting the road for some U.S. and European dates, which you can check out here.
Covers:
1. "Public Opinion" (Urban Waste)
2. "Nimrod's Son" (Pixies)
3. "Holocaust" (Crisis)
4. "American Society" (Originally by Eddie and the Subtitles, but referencing L7 version)
5. "5 to 10" (Vile)
6. "Pink Flag" (Wire)