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Stars Fall Never Make You Cry Breaking Up For Her Smile Marianne

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Silhouette Don't Leave Me Behind Someday - [] It's Too Late Regret LP comes with download code to download free MP3s of the album.

The LP & CD from Ceremony is finally here! 10 brilliant pop songs super charged with amplification and distortion to make an incredible mix. Before A Place To Bury Strangers, there was Skywave, a three piece noise pop band from Fredericksburg, Virgina. When Ollie left to move to NYC, Paul and John remained and reorganized as Ceremony. While there will be undeniable comparisons made to APTBS (they still remain friends and share an affinity for loud guitars), Ceremony employ a songcraft far more focused on making catchy pop tunes than blowing out speakers and eardrums. The LP comes with a special download code to download MP3s of the entire LP while the CD comes with bonus enhanced content of four music videos.

For live dates, videos, and more information see

"Do you ever get into those heated debates, the kinds that quickly turn into arguments, about the best decade for music? People will always be biased towards whatever specific time they grew up in and it never seems to get anywhere. Craig Finn says 1977 was the best year in rock and roll, James Murphy wrote that the 80s are mostly forgotten, I always hold the opinion that 1959 was the best year for music, period. But who's exactly right and does it even matter? One thing's for sure, the 80s are still reigning with albums, bands and sounds from that space of time continuing to influence even the noisiest of bands. Take someone like Ceremony, a band that contains the remains of Skywave, Paul Baker and John Fedowitz still sound a lot like what their ex-bandmate's current band, A Place to Bury Strangers, sounds like. Except that for this strong duo, their music is much more focused on the melodic side of pop and how it can still maintain an equal amount of importance, through the cloud of noise. And this noise, which comes at you from inception on "Stars Fall," is always at the root of their sound. It's comfortably numb and it permeates an appealing amount of reverb that it channels both what My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth did with their rock; the biggest difference being in the delivery. On Rocket Fire, Baker and Fedowitz bring out their inner The Cure and offer an impressive slice of standard pop hits. These ten songs swirl past with each one containing a solid three minutes of music into what ends up being a smooth, 35-minute album. And while each song seems indebted to the 80s and their long-standing trademark of melting lyrics and tones, the strongest shift in sound comes from the loudness of the guitars and drums. Even with the aforementioned song's blast of noise, the lyrics are simple and lovely, "Anywhere you are, you will know" and the same can be said about this music, it's sure to be well known for its pop sensibilities. But don't me mistaken either, because there's also specific examples of how they've kept to their own brand of noise-filtered rock that is neither shy nor meek. On "Don't Leave Me Behind" the guitars sound as if they are being channeled through a blender, with a squealing amount of atmospherics hidden in the foreground. Booming and uncontrollable, the pair of musicians keep everything loosely in control with a machine-like drum pattern. And though "Marianne" is in a much slower tempo, the wall of sound makes it that much more compelling – even when they conjure up their inner Stephin Merritt, it sounds coyly close to Distortion-era Magnetic Fields. And definitely take a moment to stare in awe at the awesome cover to the left of this review. The album opens up in a four-part gatefold that makes the lyrics not just easy to read but a terrific pair to the album's music. For every new guitar riff, the drums come in with a tremendous fill and even better accompaniment. Both members are listed as providing "vocals, guitar, bass, drum machine" so it's hard to decipher it but on the fresh breath of air that is "Never Make You Cry," it all comes together as one overflowing hill of volcanic eruption. And that's what Rocket Fire is about, forgetting about the analysis and influences, letting go and taking off on an explosive ride." - Bryan Sanchez,

"Fredericksburg, Va., noise rock trio Skywave broke up long before they had the chance to spread their distortion-driven tunes to a wide audience. The primary factor in the band's dissolution was the departure of bassist Oliver Ackerman, who relocated to New York City, began building custom effects pedals and formed the awesome shoegazer combo A Place to Bury Strangers. However, the two remaining members of Skywave, Paul Baker and John Fedowitz, stuck together to form Ceremony, a noisy outfit of their own with a decidedly more pop-friendly sound. And while it's that pop accessibility that makes debut album Rocket Fire unique, the duo can certainly hold their own when it comes to volume. Rocket Fire is a loud record. A very loud record. It buzzes and screeches and squeals and shreds. Yet, for something so seemingly menacing, there are plenty of hooks to keep the listener's interest, even when that audio assault is at full, piercing blast. Sharing more than a few similarities with their former bandmate's post-punk edge in A Place to Bury Strangers, Ceremony also get by with more approachable melodies, like The Pains of Being Pure At Heart but with a much bigger arsenal. With the opening waves of "Stars Fall," Ceremony channels their fuzz through a gorgeous dream pop melody, Baker's vocals swimming in effects just above a woozy mixture of overdrive. The vicious, careening "Never Make You Cry" takes a considerably different course, however, with razor sharp riffs substituting for the previous song's dense sonic soup. The drum machine snap of "Breaking Up" is reminiscent of The Jesus And Mary Chain circa 1989 (a highly underrated period in their career), while "For Her Smile" is a sinister goth-rock standout, rich in feedback and melody. And "Marianne" is contrastingly one of the most chaotic and blown out tracks on the album, as well as one of the catchiest. The initial shock of Ceremony's unrelenting bombardment of noise doesn't take long to wear off, though the impact never really lessens. However, beneath that fiery exterior is a gifted pop band, whose melodies are strong enough to fight their way through the din. Rocket Fire only runs a little longer than a half hour, but it's probably best to give your ears a 25-minute cool down period before you play it again. And you will want to play it again." - Jeff Terich,

"This Fredericksburg, VA duo's 3rd album is an excellent set of noisy, shoegazer psych-rock recalling past noisemaking heavyweights like The Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, along with contemporaries such as A Place To Bury Strangers, which isn't too surprising, since the Ceremony's Paul Baker and John Fedowitz used to be in the similarly minded trio Skywave with A Place To Bury Strangers' Oliver Ackermann. Like those bands, Ceremony swathes their songs in layers of oceanic guitar distortion, though underneath the noise can be heard some sweet, ‘80s-influenced pop songs with New Wave drum-machine rhythms and sugary melodies. 5/14/2010 -Don Yates,

"Another band that sort of came out of nowhere is Ceremony. But I guess not really...before there was A Place To Bury Strangers there was Skywave, and Skywave sort of turned into A Place To Bury Strangers and Ceremony. I love those APTBS albums more than anything, so you can imagine, I was very excited to hear this album by Ceremony! It is brought to us by the great label Killer Pimp that put out the first APTBS album. Killer Pimp has also just released the amazing album from Soundpool. Soundpool is like the female cousin of Ceremony; it hasceremony rocket fire female vocals and is a bit more ethereal but still is in the shoegaze genre. This new album by Ceremony is called Rocket Fire. If you were a bit scared by APTBS then this might be the album for you -- not that it isn't just as good, it is just a bit more accessible and easy to digest. This is not the Chaz Bono band with the same name. There actually seem to be about 4 other bands named Ceremony...not exactly sure how that happened. You'd think somebody would have noticed before now! But this is for sure my favorite incarnation. Rocket Fire is everything I love in an album -- it's loud shoegaze, it's dark and brooding, it sounds British even though it's not, it sounds like it was made in 1991 but it's not, and it has been one of my favorites of this month. I will probably wear it out soon, so I am trying not to listen to it every day, but it is that good!" -

"The new Ceremony record that I speculatively mentioned back in early March is finally really, truly out! True to my hopes and suspicions, it's flat out fantastic. While comparisons could easily be made to A Place To Bury Strangers, anyone with a keen ear for melody would have to agree that Ceremony lends themselves much more to Skywave's pop sensibilities than that of APTBS. That said, the noise is definitely coming before the pop on Rocket Fire — and to great success, too! Songs like "Stars Fall" and "Marianne" are total noisepop gems worthy of endless repeated listens and "Someday" sounds like it could have been a classic Factory Records single. The CD version of the record is out now on Killer Pimp, but the vinyl version won't be out until May 25th. Personally I'd say it's worth the wait. Tide yourself over by listening to "Marianne"." -

It's been a while since My Bloody Valentine released Loveless in 1991 and the subsequent years have garnished our musical palates with ethereal, mournful fruit. The '90s is littered with bands who tried and failed to pick up the reins abandoned by MBV, and it took many years for the band's influence to form into the lasting promise of Loveless. Then of course, there's also the Jesus and the Mary Chain, The Cure, and a host of other shoegazer bands that lent to the noisy, melancholy '80s sound of disaffected musicians. Sipping from an enlightened proboscis, separated from the troubled '90s, came Skywave, who hailed from Fredricksburg, Virginia. Skywave lit up the American shoegaze scene, receiving excited approbation for their strong, furious sound. The band prematurely flickered out, discharging three embers. The bassist, Oliver Ackerman, moved to Brooklyn, NY and founded A Place to Bury Strangers. The other two, Paul Baker and John Fedowitz (both musicians share duties on bass, guitar, vocals, and drum machine in Ceremony) remained in Skywave's city of origin and put together Ceremony — one of the more exciting bands of the movement for the resurgence of shoegazer. Due to the seeds sown from Skywave's beginnings, it's easy to notice the similarity of APTBS and Ceremony's "wall of noise," but the differences begin thereafter. While Ackerman's band became a finely tuned, throbbing explosion, Ceremony retained more of the traditional sound of shoegazer; classically rooted in My Bloody Valentine, the Jesus and the Mary Chain, and even the Cure, as displayed on the eighth track, "Someday"…more on that later. Ceremony's Rocket Fire (Killer Pimp) begins with the obvious single of the album, "Stars Fall." Its catchy hook remains relevant through the entire track, displaying the wonderful hollow sound of Fedowtiz's bass. The song teeters between minor and major chords striking a raw nerve and moody vibe that is instantly addicting. "Stars Fall" is one of the more uplifting songs of the album; marked with a haunting chorus as the distortion of Baker's guitar plows through the gut of the song's theme. The singer's eerie vocals warble like a voice from the dead captured on tape and remains so throughout the album. There are many great songs on Rocket Fire, such as "Silhouette," "It's Too Late," and "Regret." The eighth track, "Someday," is outstanding, harkening the Cure's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me; the bass rumbles and the guitars glimmer with New Order-ish delight; trembling over every note. Although the album rarely misses, songs like "Marianne" have been heard many times before, not that it's a bad thing but the track almost makes Ceremony sound like a tribute band. Although this reviewer was unable to obtain more information on Ceremony's previous releases, one could surmise this band's seminal era, so lending its talents to a classical sound is easily acceptable. The song is, after all, well executed and Ceremony will surely grow from it on future releases. Ceremony recently performed at Aloft in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, May 1st. The band articulated the album's glittering, noisy, and elegant sound live. The performance did what the album does, which is construct a loud and beautiful set of tunes that will remain in your playlist for a long time. Rocket Fire has an obsessive quality about it, like an elusive auditory dream one tries to replicate over and over. Rocket Fire is pure pleasure, ranking as one of the best of the year, which has already seen too many disappointments. (See: Yeasayer Odd Blood, MGMT Congratulations). I predict the album will continue to be be one of the most memorable efforts of the year. - Carlos Detres,

Paul Baker and John Fedowitz have been around kicking the Shoegaze revival tip well before it became en-vogue a couple of years back. As two thirds of the criminally under-appreciated Skywave, who were already wrapping audiences in blankets of distortion while most nu gazers were first discovering that there was a whole world of fuzz beyond Loveless. Since putting Skywave to rest, bassist Oliver Akerman has gone on to form the more hard pounding and celebrated A Place to Bury Strangers, while Baker and Fedowitz have toiled in a bit more obscurity with Ceremony, a band that very much picks up where Skywave left off. On their 3rd full length, Rocket Fire, you will find no epiphanies or broken ground but that isn't per-say a bad thing. Ceremony, to me, have always been a band very much about celebrating and creating for a bygone era and fan, Rocket Fire cements just that. After my umpteenth spin of this record, I think I'm finally starting to grasp why Ceremony hasn't broken through quite the way many of their fellow Nu Gazers have. Rocket Fire, like all of Ceremony's catalog isn't written or produced to appeal to the throngs of kids lapping up what The Big Pink or The Pains of Being Pure at Heart throw out at them; but rather those of who grew up listening to Blind Mr. Jones, Catherine Wheel and The Pale Saints. There's absolutely no twist or "tell" so-to-speak that places Rocket Fire in this Millennium. Maybe I'm showing my age here, but songs like "For Her Smile" and "Someday" aren't revivals of anything, they're pure taps into the time stream of the mid-90s and that's what makes Ceremony so enjoyable and interesting… Sure you may have heard this all before, but I bet you've never heard it from a band so blissfully caught out of time. And if you care and are listening carefully enough, that's pretty revolutionary in it's own right because earnest authenticity and strong song writing rarely fall hand in hand as we may like them to." -

"With all the deviation in the shoegaze sound, Virginia's Ceremony is proud to stay firmly grounded in the roots of the genre. After the demise of Skywave, a band considered by many to be responsible for the resurgence of shoegaze in America, bassist Oliver Akerman formed the incredible A Place to Bury Strangers, and remaining members Paul Baker and John Fedowitz formed the equally excellent Ceremony. Picking up directly where Skywave left off, the duo's guitars make a tremendous amount of noise thanks to some serious pedal magic. Blisteringly loud washes of guitars are as piercing as they are soothing, contrasting the lo-fi drum machine rhythms tucked just below the mix. Baker.s vocals add great texture, sounding relaxed and calming amongst the breaking dance beats and all encompassing storm of guitar effects." -

"Much like the loudness that pervades such noise rock, Ceremony feature raucous pop hooks and riffs that surmount the loudness. The bond between them and A Place to Bury Strangers is undoubtedly felt but they've captured their own appealing facets. Although there is plenty of drive, it's a noisy explosion that unquestionably delivers a strong jolt that resonates for a long time after it ends." - Bryan Sanchez,

"thunderously romantic Factory Records guitar/bass interplay, lo-fi drum machinesᾹbut as far as what it sets out to do, it succeeds." — Marc Hogan, , January 15, 2010

"Creating noisy, brilliant shoegaze like APTBS, Ceremony's tunes are a bit more on the indie pop side, making for an interesting and brilliant mix of influences." -

"burning frequencies, dark noisy pop, electronic drumming, a bath of guitar gears like phaser, rat, reverb" -

"some very fine noise-pop" - Built on a Weak Spot

"Ceremony's music is a superb hybrid of dark noisy pop, shoegaze, and electro; the result is a sound both unique and nostalgic." - Superstarcastic

"Utterly exhilarating" - Opus