Ceremony to the Sunset
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| Studio album by Yawning Sons | ||||
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Ceremony to the Sunset is the debut studio album by Yawning Sons, a collaborative musical project formed by members of American band Yawning Man and British band Sons of Alpha Centauri. It was released on June 15, 2009 by Lexicon Devil Records, with a deluxe vinyl edition released by Alone Records on October 25, 2014.
Production
In 2008, Gary Arce of Yawning Man was invited to the United Kingdom by the band Sons of Alpha Centauri to produce new tracks, but upon arrival, the idea of simply producing the record was scrapped. Within one week, Arce and Sons of Alpha Centauri had written and recorded an entire album's worth of material together,[1] working at Ranscombe Studios in Rochester, Kent with Jim Riley as their producer.
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.2/5[2] |
| Heathen Harvest |   [3] |
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It was placed eighth on both The Obelisk and The Aquarian's Top 10 albums of 2009,[4][5] while the Roadburn Festival named it Album of the Day on their website on 17 December 2009.[6]
Sputnikmusic remarked that the album's sound "is like no other experienced before and like nothing that will be experienced again."[2] I-94 Bar said that its music "works on many levels, like Tom Verlaine's vocal-less efforts, and playing it in the background while performing everyday tasks (like open heart surgery or splitting the atom) is possible without nodding off."[7] Sander van den Driesche of Echoes and Dust said that the album should be seen as "a classic album, not perhaps as a desert rock album per se, but as an album mixing ambient elements with desert rock, psych and space rock."[8]
Commenting on the album's musical style, Sam O. of Ninehertz said that the album "blends aspects of desert-psychedelia with post rock influences from good, old, miserable England," though adding that he "hoped that this album wouldn't run a nautical theme throughout as I guess that watery themed songs would kill all the hopes of desert imagery."[9] Heathen Harvest noted that "though this album is instrumental, it seems to have a lot to say without the need for words, and if there is one thing that is impressive about this new project, it is that."[3] The Sleeping Shaman also had praise for the album, calling it "a triumphant partnership where laid back Californian cool collided with the British masters of cerebral ambient riffing."[10]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Yawning Sons and produced by Jim Riley.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ghostship/Deadwater" | 8:32 |
| 2. | "Tomahawk Watercress" | 6:57 |
| 3. | "Wetlands" | 6:40 |
| 4. | "Whales in Tar" | 2:48 |
| 5. | "Meadows" | 8:09 |
| 6. | "Garden Sessions III" | 5:21 |
| 7. | "Japanese Garden" | 4:47 |
Total length: |
43:14 | |
| Deluxe vinyl edition bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 8. | "Shores of Desolation" | 4:22 |
- Notes
- "Ghostship/Deadwater" contains additional vocals by Rich File.
- "Meadows" contains uncredited vocals by Mathias Schnebert.
- "Garden Sessions III" contains additional vocals and guitars by Scott Reeder.
Personnel
Credits adapted from Allmusic.[11]
- Rory Alderson – Audio engineer
- Gary Arce – Primary artist, electric guitar, lapsteel guitar, liner notes
- Ian Bailey – Audio engineer
- Blake – Textures
- Rich File – Vocal engineer
- Wendy Rae Fowler – Primary artist
- Nick Hannon – Primary artist, bass guitar
- Marlon King – Primary artist, bongo drum, guitar, electric organ
- Wes King – Photography
- Mario Lalli – Primary artist
- Scott Reeder – Primary artist, guitar engineer, vocal engineer
- Jim Riley – Record producer, audio mastering, audio mixing
- Stevie B – Primary artist, drums
References
- ↑ "Yawning Sons". Prog Archives. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Yawning Sons". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- 1 2 "Yawning Sons – Ceremony to the Sunset". Heathen Harvest. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "The Top 10 of 2009: Number Eight…". The Obelisk. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ J.J. Koczan (23 December 2009). "Metal Skull: The Annual Top 10 Justification: More Than A List, Less Than Relevant". The Aquarian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ↑ "Album of the Day: Yawning Sons – Ceremony to the Sunset". Roadburn Festival. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ↑ "Ceremony to the Sunset reviewed". I-94 Bar. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "Ceremony to the Sunset reviewed". I-94 Bar. Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "Yawning Sons - Ceremony to the Sunset". Ninehertz. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ↑ "Yawning Sons 'Ceremony To The Sunset' LP Reissue 2014". The Sleeping Shaman. 12 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ↑ "Ceremony to the Sunset - Yawning Sons - Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 October 2016.