''Creeper'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Creeper. Recorded in April 2014 at the Ranch Production House in

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

with producer Neil Kennedy, it was originally released independently as a digital download on 19 June 2014. The EP was later issued on limited edition

12" vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

by Palm Reader Records in December 2014, followed by another limited edition reissue in November 2020 by Roadrunner Records. "Gloom" and "VCR" were released as

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

s. Written primarily by the band's lead vocalist Will Gould and lead guitarist Ian Miles (with two tracks co-written by rhythm guitarist Sina Nemati), ''Creeper'' received positive reviews from music critics. Several commentators praised the release as a strong example of modern punk rock and a promising debut from the band, as well as comparing its sound to that of

Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob D ...

and AFI. ''Creeper'' was officially launched at a local show in August 2014, and promoted at more UK shows later in the year.

Background

Creeper recorded their debut EP at The Ranch Production House in their hometown of

with producer and engineer Neil Kennedy. The EP was self-released by the band as a digital download on the website

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

on 19 June 2014, and was later made available for

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

on the ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' website in July. Following its digital release, ''Creeper'' was issued as a limited edition

on 8 December 2014 by Palm Reader Records limited to 300 copies – 100 on "Creeper Purple" vinyl and 200 on black vinyl. The EP was written primarily by vocalist Will Gould and guitarist Ian Miles, with second guitarist Sina Nemati co-writing "We Had a Pact" and "Gloom". In promotion of the EP, a

for "Gloom" was released on 3 September 2014. The track was also included on the ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more " underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, ...

'' compilation ''Rock Sound 100% Volume #192'' in October. "Gloom" was followed in January 2015 by a video for "VCR", which was filmed "in the heart of he Leicestershire countryside". Both videos were produced by Rolling Vision. "VCR" was also later made available as a free download from the ''

'' website as part of the magazine's #KerrangFreshBlood feature. After making their live debut at the ''Creeper'' EP release show on 1 August 2014 at Southampton's Joiners Arms, the band played their first show in London on 13 September. They later supported

Funeral for a Friend Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band from Bridgend, formed in 2001 and currently consists of Matthew Davies-Kreye (lead vocals), Kris Coombs-Roberts (guitar, backing vocals), Gavin Burrough (guitar, backing vocals), Darran Smit ...

on a UK tour in January 2015, as well as opening for

Gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

in May and playing at

Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2 ...

in June.

Critical reception

Media response to ''Creeper'' was generally positive. Tom Connick of ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

'' magazine described the EP as "perfectly executed punk rock", praising vocalist Will Gould's "impassioned accounts of love and loss" in his lyrics and the "soaring vocal harmonies and three-chord melodies" present on many of the songs, which he compared to the style of bands like

and AFI. ''

'' writer Chris Hidden described ''Creeper'' as a "highly accomplished debut EP", describing the band's style as "a dark, slightly gothic twist on peppy punk rock" and also comparing them to Alkaline Trio. Katie Clare of ''Louder Than War'' remarked that the EP contained "five flawless tracks of dark hued

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

Track listing

Personnel

Creeper *Will Gould – vocals *Ian Miles – guitar *Sina Nemati – guitar *Sean Scott – bass *Dan Bratton – drums Additional personnel *Neil Kennedy – production, engineering *Alan Douches – mastering

References

External links

''Creeper''
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

(stream where licensed) * {{Creeper (band) 2014 EPs Creeper (band) albums Horror punk EPs