Hailing from Northeast Philadelphia and its surrounding 'burbs, Creepoid has spent the better part of 2014 putting out new music at a fervent pace. Releases include Wet, an EP they dropped in April, and their self-titled sophomore LP which was released March 4th*. The band will also be releasing a second EP before 2014 is through. These offerings are the first taste of new music that fans have received since the Band’s full-length 2011 debut, Horse’s Heaven.
Creepoid certainly draws heavily from the same fundamentals as Horse's Heaven; spacy, grunge-inspired tunes lace the tracklist. The band has not strayed far from its most familiar song structure: soft, mellow introductions that crescendo into heavy, sprinting finishes. Although the basics have remained the same, this time around they are clearly more refined. Peter Joseph Urban IV’s lead plays perfectly off of Sean Miller’s rhythm guitar the whole way through "Gout", the album’s fifth track. In a harmonious fashion the various production styles used for Miller’s and Anna Troxell’s (vocals/ bass) vocals work to keep the album fresh throughout.
It is, however, in the album’s nuance that the band’s true progression can be heard. Songs that would on previous recordings raced to their premature crescendoed peak, now on Creepoid, take their time to build the same energetic mountaintop with a harnessed and controlled pace that builds an exciting, sometimes uneasy anticipation.
The album’s seventh track "Tired Eyes", is an achievement in which the band flexes its newfound sophistication. The track opens with an easy chord progression and a velvety melody from Miller. A brief saxophone harmony invokes the solo on "After the Gold Rush"(Neil Young), which is shortly followed by a brief pause. The momentary break is interrupted with a powerful and ominous riff; the song’s entire tone reverses as it slowly mounts to its thunderous conclusion with Pete Troxell* joining the fray on the drums. A screeching guitar fades as "Tired Eyes" closes. I immediately hit replay.
* In the time since the album dropped on March 4th, the band has been busy as hell touring the US in its support. Stops have included gigs at SXSW and Chicago’s Township on record store day in April. The tour concludes with a homecoming performance at the TLA on October 4th.
* Good guess, Pete and Anna Troxell are the happily married backbone of Creepoid.
http://creepoid.com/