Few bands are able to grow and evolve in the way that CEREMONY does. Over the course of two decades, the California post-punk legends have continually shifted shapes without losing their visceral edge, remaining staples of subculture music. Now, following their appearance at Coachella earlier this year, the band is gearing up for their seventh studio album, Tell Me Your Dream, dropping August 7 via Relapse Records.
To mark the occasion, CEREMONY released their latest single, “Dark Summer,” alongside a new music video. The track leans heavily into a broody, post-punk atmosphere. Frontman Ross Farrar described the song’s underlying tension by saying:
“In Rock ‘n Roll music, feedback occurs when a guitar is purposely moved too close to an amplifier – like a dark summer – when dread finds you amid brilliant sunshine, it feels disorienting, confusing, and chaotic. What you’re left with is malaise, doldrums of sorts that are both beautiful and terrifying.”
This tension drives much of Tell Me Your Dream, an album that reunites the band – Ross Farrar, Anthony Anzaldo, Andy Nelson, Justin Davis, and Jake Casarotti – with producer John Reis (Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes). Reis previously collaborated with the band on the acclaimed 2015 record The L-Shaped Man, and his understanding of punk history made him a seamless addition to the creative process. Guitarist-keyboardist Anthony Anzaldo remarked that the band was comfortable enough creatively to both figuratively and literally hand the keys over to Reis, trusting his vision to help push their sound into its next sonic shape:
“John sort of joined the band on this one. We could not respect him more as a guitarist, as a singer, or as a songwriter. He understands what it’s like to be in every position. So we really gave him the keys.”
That level of trust is not a coincidence, but a marker of the dynamic which CEREMONY has built over time. The origins of the band can be traced back to a grade-school connection between Farrar and Anzaldo, offering a solid foundation to grow a musical entity that keeps adapting, growing, and stubbornly cultivating unique and fresh records in an ever-shifting musical landscape.
Fans won’t have to wait long to hear the new material in its authentic, energetic, live form. CEREMONY leaves for an extensive North American tour this fall, launching September 9 in Montreal, with major stops including Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
Tell Me Your Dream is available for pre-order now through Relapse.
CEREMONY Tour Dates
9/9 – Montréal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques
9/10 – Toronto, ON @ East End United Basement
9/11 – Detroit, MI @ Russell Industrial Center Lot (Supporting Turnstile)
9/12 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
9/13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
9/24 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
9/26 – Vancouver, BC @ The American
10/1 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
10/2 – New York, NY @ Warsaw
10/3- Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
10/4 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/16 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade – Hell
10/17 – Orlando, FL @ The Abbey
10/18 – Miami, FL @ Churchill’s
10/22 – Denver, CO @ Marquis
11/5 -San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
11/6 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
11/7 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
11/13 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
11/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
