The Old Ceremony – Our One Mistake

I’ve been staring at this blank screen for nearly thirty minutes now trying to think of how to start this review. It’s really quite a conundrum because I know nothing about this band, so it’s hard to introduce them properly. So I finally decided to say this: The Old Ceremony isn’t for everyone. They are the furthest thing from “punk”; but if you’re remotely interested in the underside of alternative, the tentative nature of indie rock and the pop sensibilities of, well, pop – then you’ll find a little something deep inside Our One Mistake to keep you coming back.

This album isn’t fast or heavy hitting, it’s not distorted or in your face; instead it’s laid back, piano driven pop-rock. The album kicks off with Talk Straight which gives you a solid idea of the basic structure of the rest of the album. It’s a rather sparse, piano foundation but repeated and built upon to make a much fuller sound. It’s like The Dresden Dolls, a cabaret of sorts but void of the sexual innuendoes that The Dresden Dolls built their album on. While that is the main stepping stone to most of the album, they aren’t pigeon held into the format and are able to expand on it when needed. Papers In Order sounds like upcoming solo artist Paolo Nutini while on Poison Pen the band goes for a more alternative, old fashioned sound like Murder by Death. On other tracks they lean more towards the pop side of the spectrum, and Bao Qian is half Mandarin.

The one main constant throughout the album is the vocal delivery of leading man Django Haskins, who sounds similar to acts like Adam Turla (of Murder By Death) and Nick Cave (of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds). The remaining six musicians come and go as the moment calls for it, making for a varied but always confident sound. There’s the abrupt, straight forward tracks like Reservation which uses the minimum to get the song across while Hearts Were Made is a much fuller, more ambitious track packed to the rim with organ melodies and violin lines.

Our One Mistake is a confident, emotional alternative indie pop album. With a varied sound and strong vocals, it’s an album that may not jump at you instantly, but it does grow on you if you give it the chance. A few songs could be left out, but just as many are worthy of a repeat.