Creeper- Sex, Death & The Infinite Void

Last Friday saw the release of alternative rock band Creeper’s sophomore album Sex, Death & The Infinite Void. This album has been anticipated for months by fans all over the world since the announcement of the album and the release of the first single Born Cold, which is a very good first single to have as it also meant that Creeper made a lot of new fans going into the release of this record.

To me this album seems like a love story of otherworldly creatures and their journey and time on this earth as they escape from heaven or hell. It’s a beautiful portrayal of the ups and downs of the relationship and being different and there are many parts of the album that help the narrative evolve and add to the overall feeling of the album. There are many poetic interludes throughout that are striking and help set the tone.

The album opens with one of these spoken word pieces and it really sets the mood for the album and I thought it was a really intriguing start. It creates tension and as it then goes into the first song Be My End I find it to be a very powerful start to the album. Be My End is probably the song I’ve had stuck in my head the most over the last few days of listening to the album, it’s one that stuck out for me. I really like the lyrics and the vocals here, Will Gould’s voice is incredible and that really shows in the chorus of this song. Throughout the album I find that all the choruses in the songs are powerful, catchy and strong, and it definitely starts here on Be My End. The juxtaposition of the title is also a good way to set the tone of the album, starting with the end. Another point that will keep coming throughout this interview is that all the instruments sound really good, they’re all clean and work with the sound the band are trying to do very well.

The second song on the album is Born Cold which was the first song the band released for this album cycle, it was the first we had heard from Creeper in 3 after they dramatically ended the first album cycle in November 2018, by leaving their costumes on the stage as they left proclaiming the characters from Eternity In Your Arms dead. Now looking back that makes a lot of sense considering the themes of this album. I really love the bass in this song; it really carries through for me. Once again the vocal performance is great and in the chorus we really feel the emotion that the band is trying to bring with this song. I really love the bridge of this song too and can’t wait to hear it live.

Cyanide starts with a slightly different tone compared to the other two songs so far, however I really like the acoustic guitar and piano in the mix and Hannah Greenwood’s vocals are a great addition to the song, as well as throughout the album, they really compliment Will Gould’s vocals well. This song does remind me of Arctic Monkeys, which is never a bad thing, but I can really here the influence on this track. I really love the chorus of this song, and how euphoric it feels, it’s another stand out song for me on the album.

Next we have another poetic interlude, Celestial Violence, before we go into Annabelle which opens with its strong catchy guitars. The chorus of this song is kind of unconventional for a modern rock band but it works so well, I love the harmonies in this song so much especially in the chorus, they add so much and it really makes the listener feel the song. This song really enforces an image of a sunny fake America to me, like a postcard scene but with a cynical vampire on a beach. I’m not really sure how to explain it but that’s what I see and from now on in the album this keeps coming back. It’s like the contrast between what America want to project and what they don’t in one. Almost Truman Show-esque.

Paradise has some really good guitars and rhythm in the song. It seems almost haunting, sounding quite Halloween-y but in summer. Poisoned Heart has another strong chorus, the vocals in the chorus sound more emotional and I really liked that part of the song. It’s a song that seems almost stuck in time, but I think it works really well. Thorns Of Love, is yet another song on this album that has a really strong catchy chorus and helps move the narrative along, I’m finding that all of these songs have been well executed and it’s definitely and album that will please listeners that have been waiting a long time to hear this. These songs are all also dramatic and theatrical and I love that, it’s not something we see a lot in modern rock and Creeper really do it well. It almost reminiscent of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Four Years Ago is a nostalgic song that looks back on a relationship that was four years ago, this is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. Opening with Hannah Greenwood’s vocals really shows off her voice and I love to hear more of it. They’re ethereal and in the chorus it seems like an almost heart-breaking song. It’s reminiscent and the added strings in the end really help amplify that.

Napalm Girls is a song I can see working live really well, the harmonies, the guitars and the desperate chorus all add to the narrative of the story and the emotional aspect of this song. I really enjoyed listening to it. Black Moon has a really strong start and fantastic chorus of course, the bridge of this song is really compelling too with its haunting backup vocals and sad sounding vocals.

All My Friends is the song that will have you in tears, it’s the end of the story and I find it breaking character slightly. It starts really reminiscent and sad. I like how bare it is and the piano adds to that well. It’s a song that tugs on the heartstrings and reminds you that your actions affect others too. It’s the realities of the world compared to the dramatics of the album, this is shown in the change in music as well as the lyrics here, this song stands out on the album and will leave you thinking at the end. The album ends on More Careful With Your Heart which is another spoken word piece that is really striking as possibly my favourite from the album. I really like how in the interlude’s they used the two characters as it gives more depth to the story and more than one side to it.

Overall I really enjoyed this album and would recommend giving it a listen in full if you have time. If you want to find out more about the album and the journey Creeper had making it then I would really recommend reading the article that Upset Magazine published. It will be linked at the end of this post.

Favourite tracks: Be My End, Born Cold, Cyanide, Annabelle, Four Years Ago, Black Moon, All My Friends.