''The L-Shaped Man'' is the fifth album by American punk rock band

Ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

. Produced by Drive Like Jehu guitarist

John Reis John Reis, also known by the pseudonyms Speedo, Slasher, and the Swami is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which ...

, the album was released on May 19, 2015 through Matador Records. It marks as a further shift to a Joy Division-influenced

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

sound that was introduced on band's preceding album, ''Zoo'' (2012). Lyrically, the album deals with vocalist Ross Farrar's recent break-up. A music video featuring tracks "The Separation" and "The Understanding" was released on March 26, 2015.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''The L-Shaped Man'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 65, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 9 reviews. David Anthony of

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

stated that the album is "more like the best album

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

f Joy Divisionnever made."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Timothy Monger wrote: "Whether or not they're borrowing too heavily from the Ian Curtis handbook, Ceremony have a strong handle on this style, and after nearly a decade together, these new clothes fit them quite well." Ryan Brady of Consequence of Sound described the album as "such an emotionally naked record that its bleakness is oddly invigorating." Tom Walters of '' DIY'' was positive in his assessment of the album, stating: "They might not have returned to their hardcore roots, but Ceremony have veered off into an abyss of misery of despair again, and they’re back on track because of it." Robert Ham of '' Paste'' also praised the album, calling it "one of the boldest moves this California quintet has ever taken." Nevertheless, '' Now'' critic John Semley thought that the album "feels like a boring exercise: a band performing post-punk idolatry instead of bothering to try anything new." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' critic Kory Grow thought that the album "is stifled by too much restraint," while Ian Cohen of Pitchfork panned the album, writing: "Maybe it's good for a laugh, but only as a defense mechanism against the cringe-inducing experience of watching artistic expression abandon a heartbroken man at his lowest moment."

Track listing

All tracks written by Ceremony.

Bonus Tracks

Personnel

Album personnel as adapted from Allmusic. ;Ceremony *Ross Farrar — vocals, artwork *Anthony Anzaldo — guitar *Andy Nelson — guitar *Justin Davis — bass *Jake Casarotti — drums ;Other personnel *Ceremony — art direction, layout *

— production *Dean Reis — assistant

Chart positions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:L-Shaped Man, The 2015 albums Ceremony (punk band) albums Matador Records albums Post-punk albums by American artists