Baltimore’s Celebration delivers on a steadily mounting stream of hype with The Modern Tribe, a sprawling psychedelic swirl of a record. Produced by TV on the Radio’s David Andrew Sitek, Tribe has some of the scope and grandeur of that band’s sound, thanks mostly to the dramatic wail of singer Katrina Ford (who also sang on the first TVOTR EP). Sitek’s production is densely textured, but it doesn’t overwhelm the foundation provided by Sean Antanaitis’s organ (Antanaitis and Ford are also married) and David Bergander’s drumming. If anything, it seems like Sitek could have reined them in a little: the trio can kick up quite a storm on its own, and the songs sometimes get lost in the ecstatic freakout-breakdowns. For the most part, though, that ecstatic release is just the point, and at its best — like on the standout ‘Heartbreak’ — Celebration’s music is so passionate and nakedly emotional that a few detours through the psychedelic wilderness are well worth it for the big rock euphoria payoff.
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