Diamonds, by Celebration (7" on 4AD)

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   1. Diamonds
   2. Ancient Animals (Baltimore Version)

It's a celebration, all right.  A visceral, full-throated, kinetic celebration of the power of music to take you out of yourself and into a strange new space peopled by angels, devils and white hot electricity.

Celebration is the band that Katrina Ford and Sean Antanaitis have been searching for, ever since they hooked up in high school.  As drummer David Bergander says: "It completely blows my mind - it's totally ecstatic, the energy that we end up creating together."  For a taste, check out the way that album opener "War" comes fizzing and skidding out of the traps, propelled by David's scattershot drumming and Katrina's no-holds-barred whoops: got more guns than anybody!  But don't jump to conclusions. Celebration are also capable of more measured, reflective bliss, as the swaying, shimmering swoon of "Lost Souls" demonstrates.

In short, this band is the most fully realised and three-dimensional stage of a decade-long journey through a string of striking, unsettling and influential projects.  Here's a little history: first came the unhinged punk expressionism of Jaks, which Katrina now describes as "kind of a spastic mess-induced rock band - it was really fun and exciting and all about being violent".  But despite their low-budget ferocity, the recordings that Jaks made have passed into underground legend, and - reissued in 2005 by Three One G - they're now inspiring a new generation.  Jaks also saw Katrina starting to explore the possibilities of her own vocal chords ("I wanted to sound like a man", she says) - an exploration that has led to the spellbinding range and force of her performances with Celebration.

After Jaks came Lovelife, and two resonant, bold albums (one released by Jagjaguwar, the other by Troubleman).  "It was all about identifying with deep sadness," says Katrina now, "and also about trying to sing rather than screaming and howling everything".  An evolution, then - the next stage, rather than the last stage.  Lovelife fragmented a couple of years ago, and in the space they left behind, Celebration gradually took shape.

Like Lovelife, Celebration are a band that lean heavily on Sean's multi-instrumental abilities.  He plays all the music except the drums - a feat he manages live as well as in the studio - and from his armoury of organs, electric keyboards and Moog bass pedals he summons a unique, dense, swirling sound. Muscular, but completely involving.  He also makes use of the guitorgan, an electric guitar hand-modified so that it can produce sound through an analogue organ tone generator as well as through its conventional pick-ups. Onstage, this translates into an intensely concentrated, four-limbed performance - one which leaves David and Katrina unencumbered, and free to follow their instincts.

"I like to get to the point which flamenco artists call duende", Katrina says, "which is when you completely lose your sense of self, and you're completely absorbed with the spirit - the demon - of music."  It's one of the reasons why Celebration is the right name for this band - it's not just about self-expression, it's about something wider than that.  As David puts it: "it's the name of the band and it's the way the music is - everybody is invited..."

Celebration's debut album was recorded at Headgear Studios in Brooklyn, New York, with David Sitek from TV On The Radio at the controls.  Sitek is a long-time Celebration cheerleader - he introduced the band to 4AD - and being able to make this record was the fulfilment for him of months and years of dreaming and scheming.   As well as producing the album, he contributed treated guitar parts and synth noises which - along with Martin Perna and Stewart Bogle's flute and sax parts - make for a record splashed with beguiling texture and sonic surprise.  The other members of TV On The Radio were also around during the making of the album - Tunde, Kyp, Gerard and Jaleel all make guest appearances as vocalists on various tracks.

And this collaborative mood is a signal of sorts. For all its starkness, its twitchy, raw-boned energy, and its unflinching focus, Celebration is an inclusive, even euphoric record.  Throughout - in the tidal swell of "Diamonds", the hanging, haunting guitars of "New Skin" and the relentless rhythmic drive of "Stars" - this is music that speaks of a primal thirst for life.  And in dark times, that's a cause for celebration indeed.

Other items by Celebration:

Celebration by Celebration (CD, £10.79)

The Modern Tribe by Celebration (CD, £9.79)

The Modern Tribe by Celebration (LP, £12.99)

War by Celebration (CD single, £4.29)