The Old Ceremony

Chapel Hill pop-noir band The Old Ceremony are releasing their seventh full length album Earthbound. The album was recorded at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC, co-produced by the band and Thom Canova. It features 11 new originals penned by founding member Django Haskins, who’s also an ongoing member of a troupe touring in tribute to seminal Rock band Big Star for over a decade; organized by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens participants have included Jeff Tweedy, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten, Chris Stamey and all the members of R.E.M. among others.  Earthbound is being released on 12” LP vinyl, CD, as a digital download and via streaming services on October 17 by Robust Records.

Formed in 2004 The Old Ceremony has survived longer than many marriages. They’ve reinvented themselves again and again, beginning as an eleven-piece mini-orchestra, slimming down to a five-piece touring machine (guitar, bass, drums, vibraphone/keys, violin), and now –  in their 20th year together – creating a fresh, energized record that incorporates the visceral (“Valerie Solanas”), the meditative (“North American Grain”), the philosophical (“Too Big To Fail”), and a nod back to their noir-ish beginnings (“Lonely Mayor”). Songwriter and vocalist/guitarist Django Haskins’ gift for incisive, colorful lyrics and melodies is on full display throughout, whether it be an unhinged first-person tale of shooting Andy Warhol or the melancholy last act of a long-closeted politician. He writes with empathy and precision that occasionally calls to mind the source of the band’s name, Leonard Cohen, among others.

In fact, the songs contained in Earthbound are culled from the 115 new songs Haskins penned during the pandemic. When tossed into the well-seasoned cauldron of the band’s collective musical voices, they transform from one person’s songs into something else: the sound of a band that has created together for two decades, through highs and lows, busy years of touring and slow years of child-rearing and mask wearing.

The Old Ceremony has seen their share of highlights: sharing bills with the Jayhawks, CAKE, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mountain Goats, Chuck Berry, Giant Sand, and many more; touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe; building their stature in the fertile Chapel Hill/Durham scene one cinematic performance at a time. Meanwhile band leader Django Haskins in addition to participating in the Big Star tribute tours, co-wrote and recorded an album of Folk-Rock originals with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris under the name “Au Pair.” Earthbound is destined to be another highlight to add to the list, a musical recommitment ceremony among five musicians who share a life in song.

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