So when I first came to listen this, Creeper's debut album, I was expecting quite a dark, gloomy album and don't get me wrong it does have some dark themes. But it is also quite jumpy about and good old rock music mixed in with some tracks you wouldn't really expect which I will go into later. Opening track "Black Rain", I think is the biggest and probably best song on the album. The way it starts off with Hannah Greenwood just talking and then the guitars and drums kick in. However long Creeper's musical journey lasts I imagine this will be a mainstay in their live set for many years to come. It has a very catchy chorus and although lead singer Will Gould takes the majoirty of the vocals on the album and this song, I love how he takes turns with Greenwood in the chorus. It works really well and having the male and female vocal really compliments each other well.
Most of the album is more all out rock like "Black Rain" and bands like the Offspring do spring to mind when listening to these guys at times, especially "Room 309". Which is not bad thing at all. Tracks like "Suzanne" and "Poison Pens" also back this up. One track which is a bit different and I think will be an anthem of the teenage generation will be "Misery". It is such a well constructed song and its the lyrics I think a lot of teenagers will relate to. For example the chorus goes like this:
If you could see the wreck I am these days
you’d have new reasons to stay away
Just hold my hand for a little while
Misery never goes out of style
Maybe everyone can relate to these lyrics at some point or another not just teenagers. The difference with Creeper is the delivery of these lyrics. Will Gould puts so much raw emotion into the lyrics. If you have seen them live, which I haven't managed yet, but I have seen You Tube videos of live performances. You will see just how much emotion, passion and energy he puts into these songs and this one in particular. This is another track I believe will be an anthem for them for years to come but in some ways you do hope they will be singing more about happier times in future given their upward projectory in the music scene at the moment.
A track which shows another side to Creeper is "Crickets" in which the acoustic guitar is whipped out, Gould takes a well earned rest and Greenwood takes up vocal duties. This song not only displays the versitility of the band, but also displays Greenwood's incredible vocal range. This is a very nice song which gives the album a change of pace and a different dynamic. I'll be interested to see if Greenwood is give more of the vocal duties in future given just how good a singer she is. The thing is when she is not singing she is still is the keyboardist. Whereas Will Gould is the lead singer and that is what he does so when she is singing, he is not doing anything. So Will is in that kind of Liam Gallaghar position where Noel sings some of the songs. So this situation may lead to some friction in the future but you never know, they probably have discussed this already.
The album finishes with the very apt, slow, piano driven, "I choose to live". After all the emotions gone through after listening to this album, it's a nice positive way of ending an album and the actual song, does close the album nicely. Overall this is a great effort for a debut album and I can see how they have been receiving so much attention for it. I still think they can top this but I don't look at any song on this album and think "I can't listen to this, skip on to the next track etc". All the tracks are good, but I think they have got another level in them.
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