There's nothing like some good old-fashioned misanthropy, and no one delivers hatred and self-loathing quite like California's Ceremony.  Not to be confused with any of the other 5,000 or so bands that share the name (or the New Order track) Ceremony have found themselves atop the modern hardcore scene, and with their forthcoming third album "Rohnert Park" due June 8th, the band recently released a new single entitled "Sick".

Opening with a d-beat, the song builds until a bass guitar joins the mix, followed shortly by guitar.  Eventually, vocalist Ross Farrar cuts in with his signature scraggly yelp and a laundry list of everything that pisses him off regarding modern society.  Although the concept of listing your grievances in a straightforward punk song may be cliche and somewhat uninspired at this point, Farrar manages to make the lyrics fresh thanks to his swashbuckling swagger.  Although I suppose that's been the secret to Ceremony's success: their succinct and bold approach to songwriting mixed with their undeniable swagger.  They've managed to make ridiculous lines like "Past your fists full of hate/take a swing at the world" and "I won't be skullfucked by faith/I am the upside down cross" into anthemic  cries heard at punk shows everywhere, and they've managed to do it again with this song.

It seems that with the release of this song, "Ronhert Park" will be full of more straightforward punk songs that are sure to become anthems of their own.  Or perhaps, "Sick" is a last cry of their old style, and the band will experiment with new song structures, which they seemed to have hinted at on their last LP "Still Nothing Moves You", either way "Sick" is a promising single.

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