CREEPS – “Demos And Demons”
Creeps is a new band. They’re from South Boston and Providence with members of Honest John, the singer and Neighborhood Shit- the guitar player but here he drums. And me, I just trail behind, scribblin’ down notes with my pad of paper, a pencil tucked behind my ear.
A creep is an “undesirable man, a loser, not good, a detestable person.” Hey, sounds like they’re describing me! Or- “slow movement, especially at a steady but almost imperceptible pace.” Which kind of fits the band in a way.
“Creep” was a big song for Radiohead- but I’m not big on big things. I like sixties movies that look like they were made for a couple thousand bucks, that get one star, I’ll take them over any blockbuster any day.
Money always seems to produce badness- not in the obvious evil way, but in the biggest chain, biggest conglomerate, biggest movie, biggest band. Doesn’t the music they spend the most money on to produce sound the worst than any other? Big, bland and no quality.
The only thing I know that costs a lot that I like are paintings by Van Gogh, Warhol etc. that are now worth over a hundred million dollars. But this is just big companies trying to buy the beauty and integrity of these paintings, which are priceless, by throwing money at them and it fails.
Like middle aged men at a strip joint, tossing their dollar bills at youthful, female beauty that shines beyond the outlines of their bodies and doesn’t register in their dim view.
Great- now Slimedog’s comparing art with strippers! And what does this have to do with the Creeps? Well, this is not some big project where tons of money was spent, I’m guessing and maybe this is not some masterpiece that will fetch millions of dollars after they’ve died. But I will say it’s a lot closer to Van Gogh than Hollywood and it’s pretty good stuff that I’d bet my ear you’ll like.
Let’s lend an ear and see if I’m right.
“Haunt Me” starts with a faint buzzing sound, like a florescent light pulsing electricity in the back of a restaurant door on a summer night. Then the walls come crashing in, the guitars fall in like a twenty pile car collision and the drums and bass in a blurred rampage of regret and disgust. “I’ll never see you again/ It’s the hardest thing I’ll say.” After the initial hardcore blast, a doom-y minor key chorus chimes in, “Scraping through months of bad decisions.” The music thrusts shards of sound like cracked emotion, like broken glass into the guts. “My life in pieces across three states.” This is a powerful hardcore/doom tune I believe is about a lost relationship. “I’m in the dark here.” Let me illuminate- this song is great.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/01 Haunt Me.mp3|titles=Haunt Me]“The storm took my sea/ The sea took my boat/ The world took my hope/ And down and down I go.” These are the only words of this song, , “Lost Boys” that starts out with an outburst of hardcore fury and then settles down with some grinding, relentless doom. A short tune but no less powerful and intense.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/02 Lost Boys.mp3|titles=Lost Boys]This may be a bit more arty version of the new bands I’ve been hearing in the last year or so. And when I say arty I don’t mean in the pretentious or self-indulgent way. This is maybe more experimental, more ambitious maybe.
But this new style which I’ve called garage metal, I think, can also go by doom-core metal/punk. And these few songs are awesome examples of such. Their greatness, well, it creeps up on you!
“Me And My Ghost” starts with the vocals right in with distorted sounds and banging on the side of the car percussion. After the initial outbreak a nightmare of sound ebbs through the speakers, like a wound exuding blood. “Can’t shake this psychosis/ Can’t let go/ Loss of skin…I’m not falling down I’m falling in….Standing in my shower…Reach out for your hand/ Only to watch the steam carry you away.” Again the song switches, this time into a into doom drenched psychedelia like a bad trip only with awesome music. This song is horror house creepy and returns with one more surge of power before finishing off this great tune.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/03 Me and My Ghost.mp3|titles=Me and My Ghost]http://cr33ps.bandcamp.com/album/creeps-demo
This is just a demo. A demo by a bunch of creeps. Let them creep into your consciousness, let them seep into your brain. Let the sounds leave a film of sweat along the base of your spine and forehead. Then move your car into traffic without looking. Let providence seek the divine. Go ahead, creep out toward the passing lane.
(Slimedog)
