Review Summary: I've become the bad me, I can taste it.
Ceres are Australia’s answer to Jimmy Eat World except one is well known and the other is Ceres, which I am sure you are having a hard time even pronouncing the name of – I know I did.
Ceres are just like me. They would like to be happy but are usually sad, nothing tells me this more than the line of merch they released which proclaimed, ‘I went to a Ceres show and all I got was kind of bummed out.’ It’s true, I have seen Ceres live and I got all the feels, the feels I attribute to GOOD emo music. You know the kind, the kind that forces you to relive moments and think WHAT THE ***.
‘Stretch Ur Skin’ is the perfect place to start when dipping the toes into what Ceres is. It’s a short listen at 4 songs which incorporates the sound and feelings that is CERES through and through. We have the quintessential acoustic ballad ‘Sook’, the ‘EPIC’ slow moving closer ‘Loner Blood,’ ‘Money’ showcasing all of Tom’s vocal ability and the hook laden ‘Stretch Your Skin’ which has a feature from my man Wil Wagner! We get the ebb’s and flows that Ceres love to play with going from loud to soft, calm to an emotional wreck and back again in no time.
The standout track here and for Ceres is the title track. First and foremost, it’s a damn catchy song. Despite the lyrical dread surrounding it, it bounces along nicely which I attribute to Tom and Wil playing off each other perfectly. Wil (The Smith Street Band) doesn’t hold back, as always and Tom matches him in the lyrical and vocal department and it makes for one hell of a song and what is a true crowd pleaser, at least it pleased the crowd I was with.
Ceres will always have a special place in my heart. They’ve been with me in times when I needed them the most and despite the fact that Ceres have faded off into what seems like an indefinite hiatus I’ll always look back and think, aw damn you peeps were damn fine.
