Review: Creepoid – Cemetery Highrise Slum

National Music Reviews

Creepoid

Creepoid
Cemetery Highrise Slum

Collect Records
Street: 06.23
Creepoid = My Vitriol + Nirvana

Cemetery Highrise Slum is a swarm of bees swimming somewhere in a Dali painting—equal parts aggression, distortion and eccentricity. In their recent release, Creepoid follow the quiet-vs.-loud dynamic of shoegaze and grunge more so than any other rule—including the sometimes nihilistic lyrical leanings of the genres. Making heavy work of fuzz, loops, other undisclosed effects and experiments with dissonance, Creepoid tackle sounds ranging from Smashing Pumpkins to Black Sabbath without a bump in between. Where some of the songs become a bit wearying—even in their roughly three-minute span—there are songs like “Fingernails” and “Worthless and Pure” that warrant a continual revisit. I’m reluctant to say that I was blown away, for Creepiod seem to be reaching for what Silversun Pickups have already mastered, yet Cemetery Highrise Slum isn’t without a certain charm—a charm that might be best appreciated on an October evening. –Z. Smith