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That was my first thought when I held the CD “Death at my Door“ in my hands.
And it’s coming out on “Concrete Jungle Records“. Wow.
So no longer with People Like You Records, who apparently are only focusing on highly profitable bands in rock and punk music. Be that as it may, a new album from the Canadians is definitely on the way and I’m excited.
I closely followed the early days of the band, with Sarah Blackwood on vocals, and attended several of their concerts. Back when the punk-a-billy wave was high and bands like THE CREEPSHOW could easily perform all over Europe, the band took off like a rocket.
The wave subsided after a few years and Sarah Blackwood left the band to pursue her own solo career.
Kenda Legaspi was found as her replacement. I was particularly surprised by the similarity of Kenda's voice, which is very close to Sarah's distinctive voice.
After that, the band continued on their chosen path. I have all the albums of the Canadians at home, but I haven’t seen them live in years. I can make up for that in 2018, as the band is coming to Europe in March 2018 to present their album “Death at my Door“.
Now, let’s talk about the new album.
10 songs in 34 minutes. Not exactly a lot, but it’s not about the quantity, but about what comes out of the speakers in those 34 minutes.
The opener “Death at my Door“ is a typical song by THE CREEPSHOW. Fast, driving drums, catchy melody, clear, almost powerful vocals that are doubled by the guys in the second half. Perfect for dancing, singing along, and just having a great time.
But already with the second song, the band noticeably slows down the tempo. Just when it was fun in the fast lane, they turn onto the right lane and pull the handbrake. What’s that about? Can’t the band do more than a fast piece?
The slow tempo continues with song number 3.
Song number 4 isn’t much faster either, but at least it has nice sing-along parts.
What’s going on with THE CREEPSHOW? Is it age? Is it the desire for potentially better commercial viability in the form of radio play?
Only with “Tomorrow may never come“ does the energy return and the car signals left to get back into the fast lane. A beautiful, two-part chorus that digs into your ear canals. That’s how a song by THE CREEPSHOW should be!
With “New Kings“, it continues energetically in a country-swing style with plenty of tempo. The song is fun and stands out positively from the rest.
Overall, there are three songs that remind me of the old days when THE CREEPSHOW conquered the stages with speed and melody. The other seven songs are mid-tempo or slow. The last song of the album “My soul to keep“ even comes across very calm and completely acoustic.
On the first listen of the album, I was quite disappointed that the band had slowed down the tempo so much. After several listens, I must say that even the slower songs have their quality. This is particularly due to the very good songwriting and Kenda's distinctive voice.
Overall, it’s definitely a good album, but one that you have to get used to a bit first.
