Washington DC’s own Celebration Summer is back with a follow-up to their critically loved full-length LP, Patience in Presence. Their new EP, A Little Less Numb, is four songs featuring the late 80s and early 90s sound Celebration Summer has spent time mastering for over five years now. All in under fifteen minutes.
Opening with moderately tempo-ed “Sea Shanty,” Celebration Summer takes you for a ride. While all the songs move at a good pace, this is the closest the band gets to a mid-tempo bouncy song. Second track, “Cigarettes and Green Tea,” brings the energy and love in finding your place in this world and never wanting to leave. “Antidote” has one of the best breakdown-build-up-endings I’ve heard in years, almost completely stopping the song but coming back and finishing strong. Closing song “Mad World” recognizes the craziness of the world but puts the good and bad into perspective. Lyrically, A Little Less Numb is very reflective but optimistic—a great vibe to have when creating new music from older sounds.
Produced by scene veteran J. Robbins, everything about this album is fantastic. Dan Hauser and Nate Falger’s guitars work in tandem to give you some of the best melodic punk rock riffs in years. It’s been a minute since I’ve heard a drummer move around their set as much as Glenn Boysko, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. If you tap your hands, fingers, or feet to the drums, be warned: it will take a few listens to keep up. Greg Raelson’s bass gels perfectly with the other members and does more than just follow the rhythm guitar.
Celebration Summer is a four-cylinder engine running on equal parts Jawbreaker, Hüsker Dü, Rites of Spring, and Dag Nasty. They take the baton from these classic bands and keep their sounds relevant for the generation that may have missed them. This was my first Celebration Summer record, and it certainly will not be my last. Pick up A Little Less Numb on Den of Wax Records.