{"product_id":"ceremony-the-l-shaped-man","title":"Ceremony - The L-Shaped Man","description":"\u003cp\u003eCeremony’s fifth studio album, \u003cem\u003eThe L-Shaped Man\u003c\/em\u003e, uses singer Ross Farrar’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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn order to tell Farrar’s story, Ceremony have almost completely stripped back the propulsive hardcore of their previous records, turning every angry outburst into simmering despair. “We’ve always tried to be minimalists in writing, even if it’s loud or fast or abrasive,” says lead guitarist Anthony Anzaldo. “It’s really intense when I hear it. Not in a way where you turn everything up to ten. Things are so bare, you’re holding this one note for so long and you don’t now where it’s going—to me, that’s intensity.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat intensity is apparent on “Exit Fears,” the first full song on the record. It meticulously pairs Justin Davis’ loping bassline, which pulls the track along, with Anzaldo’s icy, minimal guitar work. It brings to mind some alternate version of Joy Division that hasn’t quite lost all hope. It gets close to exploding, but instead plays the shadows, never quite rising above a nervous simmer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 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 \u003cem\u003eThe L-Shaped Man\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 Hibernation\u003cbr\u003e2 Exit Fears\u003cbr\u003e3 Bleeder\u003cbr\u003e4 Your Life in France\u003cbr\u003e5 Your Life in America\u003cbr\u003e6 The Separation\u003cbr\u003e7 The Pattern\u003cbr\u003e8 Root of the World\u003cbr\u003e9 The Party\u003cbr\u003e10 The Bridge\u003cbr\u003e11 The Understanding\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Redeye","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48893066969262,"sku":"744861105701","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/6118\/0334\/files\/2974238.jpg?v=1786144108","url":"https:\/\/morrowrecords.com\/products\/ceremony-the-l-shaped-man","provider":"Morrow Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}