Rituals is the inception of visual artist Adam Christopher Seward. After spending the summer of 2009 writing and recording in his bedroom, Adam decided to play some for his friends. Shortly after, his hazy, cinematic post-punk songs reminiscent of the 80s post punk and no wave as well as 90s shoegaze psychedelia, became a live band. He brought Matt Bourassa (Sailboats are White) whose sludge punk chords helped bring the band international attention as well as Polaris prize-winning producer Leon Taheny, (Dusted) and Newly added to the roster is Ben Reinhartz (Modern Superstitions ).
Stemming from a diverse group of musical backgrounds, the trio began playing live together in June 2010 and quickly became a Toronto buzz band, ‘the three-piece cranked out slab after slab of upbeat, distortion-blasted epics,’ Exclaim magazine. Having played countless shows in Toronto and Canada they have developed a good resume of bands who they have shared the stage with including, METZ, Austra, A Place To Bury Strangers, Moon Duo, Woods, No Joy, Mac Demarco, Dusted, and many others.
Their debut 7’ was released on Unfamiliar Records in nov 2011. In a short time the debut EP reached many indie blogs across the world including Passion Party, No Pain in Pop, Grrrizzly and many others. On April 4th, 2013, Rituals Released their Second EP entitled Mesmerized on 12" Vinyl/ Digital Download via Mike Haliechuk (Fucked up) and Carey Kurtins’ (Belham Music Management/Dine Alone) partnership label One Big Silence, The label considered home for Diamond Rings, Austra, Absolutely Free and Moon King.
Exclaim.ca:
This bleary, static-soaked post-punk number (Lifesaver) gets a fittingly vintage-looking video, which mixes kaleidoscopic colours with ocean images and lens flares aplenty. Clearly, Rituals aren't letting the onset of colder weather interfere with their summer nostalgia. -Alex Hudson
Toronto Star / Toronto.com:
If that thought just gave you a little frisson, however, you’re well advised to get on Rituals’ debut EP – four tracks’ worth of grim, Goth-y goodness out on Vancouver’s Unfamiliar Records just in time for Halloween – as quickly as possible. This thing is deadly. “Controlless” opens with a crisp, “She’s Lost Control”-esque backbeat and then proceeds to bury that wee nod to Joy Division alive in drugs and lo-fi distortion. The aqueous “Life Saver” laces spidery guitar lines around a relentlessly crunchy electronic backbeat. “Endless Mess” has the chilly intensity of early Cure. Then “Time Machine” flames the whole thing out with a bit of troglodytic garage-rock bashing that, by song’s end, has reached A Place to Bury Strangers-esque levels of volume and distortion. Then you flip the 7-inch over and start again. Reminiscent of recent releases by locals Little Girls and Mausoleum (with whom Rituals toured last spring), perhaps, but I’d say this is the best and most distinctive of the three. More! -Ben Rayner