Customer Reviews

Celebration (Dig)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Previous incantations from Sean Antanaitis and Katrina Ford led me down a long dark road. Whether it was the vibrant dissonance of Jaks or the wonderfully sculpted darkness of Love Life, the pair have never fallen short of amazing. It was no vex for me to hear another outfit put together very well. Celebration should be applauded for such a beautiful record, start to finish.
Many contemporaries seem to wallow in their gloom where it almost feels like a chore to listen after a few songs. Katrina and company manage to show many different colours in the spectrum of anguish, despair, or the plain ol' blues. The record hits you right in the soul.
Antanaitis's organ play leaves one yearning for a trip some far off exotic island. And his signature guitar tone is top notch. Ford's voice has evolved greatly since Love Life, also. One doesn't get the beastly bellowing as much but rather a more refined femininity in turn making the music brighter. And the return of Dave Bergander (Love Life) rounding out the trio plays alongside the other 2 steady and strong.
All in all, Celebration is perfect for the exhausted music enthusiast or anyone coming into the fold without prior knowledge of Siouxsie & The Banshees or The Birthday Party. Go out and pick this baby up.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would give this album a poor rating. Perhaps I am biased, having seen them live. My husband and I discovered Celebration purely by chance, while in Portland for a weekend getaway. We were browsing the Mercury looking for shows to check out, and the ad for Celebration was so intriguing we had to go. Katrina Ford's vocals are so unlike anything we'd ever heard, we couldn't help but be drawn into her performance. She owned the stage, putting the headlining band to shame when they tried to follow her performance. We bought this cd the instant it became available, and love it beginning to end.

I recommend it with headphones for the fully immersive experience.

I went to see a band called "TV On The Radio" and immeadiately discarded them after hearing Celebration as the opening act.

I loved the show and I loved the album. Sorta brings back memories of my Siouxsie and the Banshees days.
The lyrics are difficult to understand, but the vocals are wonderfully poignant. The music is an up and down roller coaster through a fun house.

very refreshing, very eccentric. very well done.

You aren't going to hear a TV On the Radio sound here, in spite of the contributions from TOTR members. Instead, Celebration's sound is reminiscent of 80's goth, a la 4AD's bands of the era, with deep, strong vocals reminiscent of Siouxsie Sioux at her most cabaret-esque intense.

Combine that with a hint of Pram's 'nightmare circus' sound of organ and theremin, and some pleasantly unusual genre-bending, like the moody sea chantey Good Ship (which could be the official song of the Flying Dutchman) and the bluesy lullaby (a la early creeped-out Pixies tracks) Diamonds. Then there are some pretty straightforward distortion-rock tunes, like New Skin.

All told, a pleasant batch of influences that result in an album that feels both comfortable and new. Four stars for fans of the aforementioned groups. I'll be looking forward to a follow-up. And it's nice to hear a female singer who isn't afraid to use her lungpower-- I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for a Boston concert date....

No. So why are people so hell-bent that they sound like TV on the Radio? Yes, one can compare them to a number of bands, but when is that not the case? The difference is, Celebration has created an entity out their music. It's a living thing and when experienced live, almost soul-crushing in its ability to draw you in. The album is especially good when heard on headphones. Highly highly recommended.

F***k
I've been waiting for music like this, makes me feel alive.

The record is even better live, its totally unbelievable, it literally puts all other live bands to shame. S***t. There is no other band I've seen that makes the whole room erupt like Celebration. holy crap. honestly.

I had to review this album to give this band the credit they deserve - they are much better than some of these other reviews will lead you to believe. And live, they are spectacular - if you ever have the opportunity to see them live, do not pass it up.

It's difficult to know where to place Celebration, 4AD's latest signing, with their frantic and bewildering jagged art-rock. Although given their label it seems strangely appropriate that their sound, as indefinable as it is, is like a compendium of many of the 4AD roster that's gone before. There are chunks of Throwing Muses, The Pixies, His Name Is Alive, The Wolfgang Press, and even the primitivism of Dead Can Dance all seemingly meshed together and spat out in a sort of cacophonous and visceral blast. But I'm getting ahead of myself - the back-story...

Baltimorean couple Katrina Ford (vocals & percussion) and her husband Sean Antanaitis (plays everything it seems except the drums) previously existed as the outfits Jaks, Lovelife and Birdland. Teaming up with David Bergander (drums) it appears they've now hit on the formula to best showcase their energetic and frantic style. Celebration is a stark and somewhat tuneless affair and their abrasive and often unattractive sound features a cornucopia of instruments, most prominently spooky matinee organs and muscular driving drums. Apart from the 4AD roster they are also reminiscent of the German punk rockers Malaria, Pulp (circa Separations, especially on the track War) and the relentless energy of the entire recorded output of The Dog Faced Hermans.

Katrina Ford's untamed and genderless sounding vocals have been compared to everyone from Siouxsie Sioux (although Sioux is more baritone) and Nina Hagen (Hagen tends to sound even more creepy than Ford's borderline insanity), however for me it's Lora Logic from the Essential Logic days that she sounds the most like (especially on the very E.L.-like track China). Ford seems to have range, although mostly she just employs shouting and warbling as she whips herself in a vocal Tarantella-like frenzy that although impressive does grow tiresome over the course of the album. Also, her voice is the deal-breaker, if you don't care for her you won't want to stay the distance.

Celebration (the album) is quite euphoric in its way and the band seems to be losing themselves in the energy of the music, which may be the ultimate goal. I found a whole album far too much but if you like their style you might well be swept away.

tuneless amorphousness from these total poseurs who, despite the fact that they can't be "pegged" as ripping off any particular band or genre, have no sound or style of their own save for an overarching kinda pretentiousness and abrasiveness. 4AD of yore--pixies, cocteaus, throwing muses, pale saints, et alia--oh my god where have ye gone? i listened twice and didn't find a melody worth a canadian penny. no no no!