Celebrators

Reviews

Celebrators Deliberation LP

Twenty-one cuts of primo studio experiments that dabble in spacey dub vocals, jittery post-punk guitar rhythms, indie jangle, and garage punk. It all sounds incredible, and CELEBRATORS are particularly good at finding a groove and riding it for a minute or two before debarking onto another idea. As a whole, it’s an upbeat, danceable affair that kitbashes elements from MINUTEMEN, CLEAR CHANNEL, and DEVO and gives you egg flavor without the whole omelet. It’s evident that the elusive wisps of practice room magic are captured here, and Deliberation runs like a pristinely recorded sketchpad that is worth checking out.

Celebrators Wipeout! / Ex-Explorer 7″

The New Weird L.A. freak flag flies on this debut single from CELEBRATORS, which also serves as the first release from the new label spun off from local DIY space and recording studio House of Tomothy. A-side “Wipeout!” tangles with the sort of repetitive, mutant-rockabilly rhythm that the FALL were enamored with on their early records, augmented by the rapidly ticking pulse of a drum machine and various layered electronic blurts that ultimately tip things more toward a contemporary post-DEVO-core reality. On the flip, “Ex-Explorer” starts off similarly in a bass-centered flail with vaguely PERE UBU-ish yelped vocals, before quickly settling into a drawn-out and knotted instrumental outro that gave me some serious and wholly unexpected flashbacks to the mid-to-late ’90s Chicago/Louisville math rock axis. Limited to 165 copies, housed in a stylishly risographed sleeve, how much art can you take?