Suffering Jukebox

The Suffering Jukebox Radiothon 2026 Episode - Celebrating 4ZZZ being (and continuing to be) Fiercely Independent.

Three interviews this morning, equalling one huge show!

The first, with Amy and Freya from local guitar-drone duo Freya. Check out Freya's music here: https://freyadrone.bandcamp.com/album/yamabiko

The second, with People's Poet and occasional community radio broadcaster, Our Carlson. Check out Our Carlson's music here:  https://ourcarlson.bandcamp.com/

Finally, with Leon from local noise-rock group Leaker, who you can catch this weekend at That Sound Over The Fence.

Nick's Pick of the Week is Ceremony's Tell Me Your Dream, you can hear it in all the usual places, or purchase it here: https://ceremonyrohnertpark.bandcamp.com/album/tell-me-your-dream and my review can be read below.

Ceremony: Tell Me Your Dream (Relapse)

Released 7th August 2026

Named after the Joy Division/New Order song of the same name, Ceremony formed in Rohnert Park, California in 2004 and have now been active for over two decades. Tell Me Your Dream is the group’s seventh album and their second for the (the primarily metal focussed) Relapse Records.

As the years have progressed, Ceremony have gradually moved away from the hardcore-punk/power violence of their first record, gradually embracing a jagged sense of melody and post-punk sensibility that belies the influences that gave the group their name. It was 2015’s L-Shaped Man that truly signalled this shift —being produced by John Reis (of Hot Snakes and Rocket From The Crypt fame) and released by Matador Records helped herald the band’s new intentions— and they haven’t looked back since. With Tell Me Your Dream, Ceremony remain firmly locked in to the post-punk genre; with just a hint of garage-rock and traditional punk thrown in for good measure.

Album opener, Prograde, is as angular as it comes, somewhat similar to the earliest eras of My Disco, whilst Other Hells unleashes all the hardcore elements from their cage before Madness resettles into a solid post-punk groove; with a furiously dancy edge. For some reason, track four on every record is almost always a standout and Dark Summer is no exception. Channelling the High period of Royal Headache, it’s a catchy track the belies a melancholy underside yet (despite its pessimism) demands a replay. Antenna, Justify and Death Destruction Mayhem all tread along a similar bass-heavy but melodic path, easing the listener into the sparseness of, album closer, Paradise.

With Tell Me Your Dream, Ceremony continue the evolution they started more than ten years ago and —despite the apprehension of some fans and critics— the band themselves have certainly never looked back. Tell Me Your Dream reinstates Reis as producer, for the first time since L-Shaped Man, and his influence can certainly be felt across the album’s ten tracks. Ever reliable, Ceremony can be depended upon to release a solid album every few years and Tell Me Your Dream is no exception. This time, however, they may have outdone themselves, by releasing their best album in more than a decade.

Nick Stephan