Music Review: "Spirit Clinic" by Kreeps
The Kreeps have a very cool, very unique sound. It’s a kind of rock, psychobilly, blues electronic sound that I think could be very hard to pull off for most bands. But these guys know what they’re doing and they use this sound to create an incredible horror atmosphere. And on the 28th of October, they release their new album: "Spirit Clinic". And yours truly has a review of that very album.
There’s not a lot of information on these guys, as far as I can find, but I’ve been looking forward to this album for a while now. So, sit back! Relax! And let me tell you why you should be purchasing this album! I’m gonna kick off the review by looking at "Be Seeing You"; a haunting, slow instrumental track (you can listen to the tracks in the stream widget, below). It also happens to be my favourite of the album. The band uses slow, repetitive sounds during the intro, adding some reverb and the occasional bit of electronics and percussion. It doesn’t have a lot of variation, but the song manages to make its repetition and minimalist sounds seem dark and eerie. Which is basically the tone for the whole album; dark and eerie. The whole thing is reminiscent of classic B-Movies horror films. And while the album is very hard to group into one genre (or even a couple) the blues and psychobilly influences are incredibly strong and unmissable. Another instrumental called "Voodoo Black Exorcist" has some more complex sections than the previous one I mentioned, but it still has the same vibe. It opens with some pretty simple percussion and slowly moves onto an organ before a slow, nicely done guitar riff. Unlike the previous song, this one has more variation, particularly in the guitar riff, which has a bit of an old cowboy sound, something you might hear in a Spaghetti Western. This is actually quite a common theme for the band, which explains why Rockstar used one of their songs in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. The Kreeps are big fans of progression in their songs, which is evident in "Voodoo Black Exorcist" as the percussion really kicks in around halfway through with some heart-pounding percussions before fading out. NOTE: If you're reading this article after October 28th, this stream may not work. Go buy the album.
Another great example of their use of progression, is "Haunted Skins", which starts with muted electric guitar and almost impossible to hear vocals before everything kicks in, giving off a haunted 1950s sound. The vocals are quite monotone, similar to The Smiths with a bit of Smashing Pumpkins. They work perfectly with the repetitive, effective music which adds to the haunted quality. It can make the lyrics a bit hard to hear, at first but the sound itself should draw you in enough to listen multiple times, where you’ll eventually hear the horror-infused lyrics. Speaking of the lyrics; they’re pretty darn impressive. They keep with the horror tone and go forsome tragic themes, like death, heartbreak and loneliness. "Grim Counties" has some of the best written lyrics on the album, in my own personal (right) opinion. Lines like “They shot me down and had to burn me twice” and “spiders still twitching in my veins” are perfect examples of their use of horror themes. Over all, the album kind of sounds like “if Quentin Tarantino mixed Pink Floyd songs.” It’s psychobilly, blues and rock with a dash of psychedelic. It almost sounds like a country album at times, with use of horror and tragedy. The album sounds like it’s recorded in a huge, empty church thanks to the reverb and this adds to the horror quality. The progression itself is similar to horror movies, in that it starts of slow and builds, becoming a heart thumping ride. I highly suggest picking it up when it drops tomorrow. It’s well worth your time and this band is worth keeping an eye on. For more Kreeps you can visit their official website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. What do you think of "Spirit Clinic"? Are you gonna be listening to the Kreeps this Halloween? Agree with the review? Let us know in the comments! |
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