CD Review: The Old Ceremony

CD: Our One Mistake

I have definitely been remiss on this one. I played a track from The Old Ceremony back on Podcast 28, and their full length hasn’t left my player since. Sadly, I’m only getting around to writing about it now. For shame!

The first time I listened to this Chapel Hil band’s latest effort, Our One Mistake, I was hooked by the end of the first song. Maybe it’s a good thing that I’m writing about it a few months later, because I can now tell you from experience, it gets more endearing and revealing with each listen. The odds of that happening get substantially better when you’ve got an army of nine fantastic musicians involved — wielding vibes, banjos, cellos, and curiosities like the Bollywood violin in addition to your standard pop-combo fare.

In fact, any given listen can take you on an entirely different ride if you focus on what any one of them is doing. Does that sound jam-bandy? Maybe, but this is not a jam band. Let me explain.

Most of the tunes are mid-to-down tempo jaunty pop wonders that bring to mind, eh, perhaps Jellyfish with a more traditional sensibility. The instruments on any given song are precise and perfectly matched to the tune, and there are no notes wasted on wanky noodling.

The comparisons to Ben Folds abound — as they surely will whenever piano and keyboard forms the backbone of the majority of the material — but this music is much more lush and layered (though, importantly, never claustrophobic). And while there are some who might think they could tackle Ben’s (admittedly charming) pitchy everyman vocals, there are very few who would dare attempt to match Django Haskins’ flawless pipes.

I’m a big fan of the Robbers on High Street and also David Yazbek, and to my ears, this one is right in the middle. Highlights include the historical narrative “Poison Pen,” the strutty “Papers In Order,” the smooth AM rocker “Radio Religion” (complete with tip of the hat to Elvis Costello…nice, boys!), and the waltzy “Hearts Were Made” — something you don’t hear all that often.

The CD is absolutely fantastic from start to finish. For more, cue up Podcast 28 and keep your ears open for the last track, the barn burner “Believer,” my personal favorite track on the disc. Can’t wait to see these guys live.

- Russ Starke