post-punk scene from the 80’s and 90’s. And if I had to take a wild guess—given the nods to Joy Division—Ceremony is most likely named after that last song (by the same name) written by Ian Curtis that became the beginning of New Order. Dave Allison recently released Ceremony’s Not Tonight, a four-song EP.

Title track “Not Tonight” is like an instant rave—remember those? It’s fun, frantic, energetic, and yet cold and removed vocally. Much darker in feel, “Leaves Me Cold” is like an industrial thunderstorm, with steely vibes. It sounds full and urgent, a bit like NIN of yore.

“Dreams Stripped Away” has more of a groove to it. It reaches a plateau in the middle, and starts back up with the sensibilities of The Church, maybe some early Siouxsie. Harder edge than the others, “Take You Down” begins percussively before taking a very dramatic turn toward distorted guitars near the end.

This is a nice sampling of a band that must be interesting to see live. You can get a copy here.

—RZO