Sometimes, you don’t want fancy. A black coffee, a domestic beer, a slice of pepperoni pizza—sometimes, these basic staples are all you want and need to be happy. Same goes for rock and roll music; sometimes you just want the basic guitar/bass/drums to make you happy. New Jersey power trio Cathedral Ceilings understands that need, for they specialize in your standard, no-frills rock music. It’s clear that they’ve had Pleased To Meet Me and Grave Dancers Union and On The Mouth in their cassette decks for ages.

Dromedary Records is proud to present you with La La La…Whatever!, the band’s second album, due September 6th, courtesy of Ralphie, Nicky, and Tommy. It’s an album that presents a dozen hot, guitar driven rock numbers in quick succession, with the same intensity as their growing word-of-mouth live shows will attest. 

But don’t mistake the band’s simplicity of style for lack of depth. Consider their first single, ‘My CEO,” which is a love song. “But not in the typical romantic partner sense,” says Ralphie.  “This is a love song about money, and how it can cloud a person’s identity, trajectory, and moral standing.  It’s about how people turn a blind eye to the evil wrongdoings of their bosses or the companies they work for, in order to pay rent, or pay back their student loans.  I almost feel bad for these people who tackle the moral dilemma of working for Raytheon, Halliburton, or the Trump org.  Almost. The three of us play on this song with a kill or be killed mindset.  Rip them off, before they rip us off.  The main riff was ripped off from Cheap Trick.  Which they ripped off from The Move.  Lie. Cheat. Steal. Smile. Repeat.”

Then there’s “Bill Berry,” a name that pays homage to the R.E.M. drummer, but more accurately serves as a tribute to that once-ubiquitous musical distribution system, the mixtape. “This song is kinda a period piece as people don’t make mixtapes anymore.  But when I was younger, mixtapes were a massive part of the culture.  It was a way to connect with people, and get turned on by a song you may have never heard before. (no internet, yo) This song is kinda a microcosm of a typical mixtape I would make.  It’s upbeat with a great walking bass from Tommy.  It’s got a couple of nice melodies with a soaring chorus.  Bill Berry, being the drummer for REM, were a fixture on a lot of my mixtapes.  I still have a milk crate in my basement full of tapes I made or traded in high school.”

And if you love those songs—and we’re sure you will—there are ten more equally fine, fiery rockers to be had. We’ll leave it up to you to choose which one will go on your mixtapes. 

Like any good working band, Cathedral Ceilings plans to hit the road after the release of La La La…Whatever! You can also catch them as part of the upcoming DromFest ’24 taking place August 31st-September 2nd in Catskill, New York. See you there!

-Joseph Haynes Kyle

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Cathedral Ceilings were formed in the late 2010s by singer/guitarist Ralph Malanga (Stuyvesant), drummer Nick D’Amore (Overlake, Worldsucks), and bassist Tom Diello (Bad Karma). After countless jams and beers, they entered the studio with NJ punk legend Chris Pierce to record their first single, Thanks for the Guitar, Mommy (2020), quickly followed up by another single, I’m A Band! (2021)

The band soon entered the studio with producer/engineer Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Aeon Station) to record their debut LP, Summer of Misguided Dynamite (2022). Met with critical praise and strong noncommercial radio support, the band embarked on two tours, building a reputation for energetic, powerful live shows and opening for such artists as Aeon Station, Tsunami, Screaming Females and Das Damen.

Their second LP, La La La…Whatever is set for fall, 2024 release, and will be accompanied by a host of live dates throughout the Midwest and Northeast.

Discography

Not to be confused with the Oklahoma black metal band that apparently doesn’t have Google, Cell were a New York-based rock band that formed in 1990 and released two full-length LPs and several singles and EPs on the DGC subsidiary of Geffen Records, along with a single on the Ecstatic Peace label. Cell was both a beneficiary and a victim of the major label feeding frenzy of the late 1980s and early 1990s, touring with the likes of Pavement and Sonic Youth before coming to an abrupt end in 1995. Though their debut LP sold more than 70,000 copies, in 1990s music industry logic, that was not sufficient to justify the support of their label, and their excellent music has not received the post-90s support that many of their far inferior labelmates have. Though we do not pretend that Cell will ever release any more new music, we are over the moon to have gotten to be the label to release “Free People,” a new recording of a song written in the early 1990s and only performed a few times live. The band members recorded the single in 2024 to promote two summer reunion shows – the only shows the band intends to play.

Revolutionary NYC rock quartet Das Damen have returned with a deluxe reissue of their landmark 1986 debut EP, 1986: It Keeps Me Wild. Newly remastered and augmented with an array of previously unreleased demos, reimagined tracks, and a brand-new issue of Das Damen drummer Lyle Hysen’s legendary fanzine, Damaged Goods (featuring a comprehensive timeline, show flyers, oral history, testimonials from Thurston Moore, Tom Scharpling, and more), DAS DAMEN will be released digitally on Friday, September 8. It will be released on vinyl in October. Pre-saves and pre-orders are available now.

In addition to two never-before-heard demos, DAS DAMEN is highlighted by reworked versions of cuts culled from the EP’s original 1986 recording sessions featuring new contributions from such friends and fans as Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Thalia Zedek (Come), Gary Lee Connor (Screaming Trees), John Robinson (The Fluid), and A Girl Called Eddy. A video for the song, “Trick Question,” directed by Dave Rygalski is streaming now on YouTube.

(Photo: Naomi Petersen, courtesy of Chis Petersen Images/Punk Life Naomi)

Discography

Dauber is a rock and roll band. Like any good rock and roll band, Dauber is rough around the edges, but bursting with vibrant, uninhibited energy. Formed in Hudson, NY by former Screaming Females bassist Mike Abbate alongside Quinn Murphy and Jenna Fairey, this poppy trio combines loud distortion, raw spirit, and infectious melodies in a way that feels primal yet carefully constructed. Dauber is like a crude painter, daubing blobs of paint on canvas in a messy yet deliberate burst of creation. Their debut album, Falling Down, doesn’t shy away from its rawness. It’s a celebration of imperfection. Recorded in collaboration with the ever-adventurous John Hoffman (Vacation, BEEF, The Mimes), the album’s production captures the grit and energy of a new band finding their sound. From the ear-splitting opening chords of the title track “Falling Down” to the lamenting last chorus of the final track “Memory Lane,” Dauber delivers a strong debut album full of exuberant hooks, crunchy guitars, pounding drums, and a healthy dose of chaos for all the rock and roll freaks of the world. Rock and roll, Dauber-style.