Review Summary: Back in the old folky days, the air was magic when we played
With
Ceremony, Tiny Ruins have achieved what I hoped they would on their previous record, 2019’s
Olympic Girls. The latter LP, buoyed by an inviting album cover and a delightful review from Sputnik’s very own Atari, absolutely intrigued me, but ultimately proved wanting in my eyes. It’s one of those releases which, while a wonderfully pleasant listen, simply lacks whatever “special sauce” is needed to stand out amid the ever-expanding number of delicate and artsy indie folk albums available for listening.
On the face of it,
Ceremony is the same sort of record as its predecessor, exuding an aura of gentle radiance. It’s the type of music which is essentially impervious to the kind of (supposed) objective assessment preferred by music reviewers - a listener may think that the solo woman singing above light instrumental backdrops is really good (or not), but the metric for judging is so elemental that trying to explain your verdict is in the same ballpark as being put on the spot by some extraterrestrial asking why we humans listen to music - “
uhhh, because it sounds nice?”. In the end, this one man’s opinion is that
Ceremony reaches a near-perfect alchemy, achieving a rare kind of bliss (credit Neil Young’s classic “Ambulance Blues” for this review’s summary, which seems fitting here).
Opener “Dogs Dreaming” might be the best song on the entire album, but it sets the stage for the rest of the tracklist reasonably well with its simple beauty, Hollie Fullbrook’s stunning voice crowning a melodic folk backdrop, and a crisp production job which makes everything feel pristine and utterly airy. From there, it’s off to the races, if we can use that expression for an album defined by a leisurely pace and an overwhelmingly pastoral atmosphere. Many songs, like the minimal “Seafoam Green”, rely heavily on Fullbrook’s vocal inflections, but there are a few moments providing a bit more sonic variation, like the percussive rhythms which undergird “In Light Of Everything” or the (comparatively) romping blues guitar of “Dorothy Bay”. Throughout, Tiny Ruins utilize a vaguely retro vibe (‘60s-esque in spots) and, despite its laid-back nature, the album feels consistently warm and full of life - just witness the jaunty instrumentation of “Dogs Dreaming” or the light guitar chime which accompanies Fullbrook’s repetitive singing of the chorus on “Out Of Phase”.
Ceremony also seems to reflect Tiny Ruins’ New Zealand origins, with the country’s location as a couple islands in the middle of the ocean echoed by the album’s persistent lyrical concentration on the boundary of land and sea. While the album’s arrangements tend not to lend the lyrics any special prominence, they’re wonderful regardless - whether it’s a storm causing a power outage in “Earthly Things” or a sea-dwelling creature stranded as the tide recedes in closer “The Crab/Waterbaby”, the album’s soul is the melding of natural themes with philosophical ponderings on the ways to push through the rough patches which dot our lives. It’s the kind of material, both touching and mystical, which only the finest folk music can deliver satisfactorily, and Tiny Ruins have pulled it off here.
Even if it’s difficult to decipher what lightning-in-a-bottle factor lifts this album above the scores of records which aspire to pull off a similar trick,
Ceremony hits the bullseye, attaining wonderful results somewhere between the musical territories plumbed by the likes of Vashti Bunyan, Jessica Pratt, and Cassandra Jenkins. After a mild album drenched in feeling, Fullbrook’s repeated croons of “I need a ceremony, I need a ritual” in the closing track not only explain the album title, but act as a potent call to refresh and restart, to push forward and begin a new act in life. In all its ethereal beauty,
Ceremony is an ideal companion, whatever you’re going through right now. It’s a perfectly suited album to fill your earbuds while going on a walk, or for the next time you’re lounging on a chair in your backyard as the sun shines down. Happy listening!
