EP Review: Creeper - American Noir

Last year, Creeper released a whirlwind of an album called "Sex, Death, & The infinite Void", which ventured back into rock history to pluck bits and pieces from inspirations to build a dramatic world that was a load of fun. A mixture of "Bat Out Of Hell" and "Born To Run", Creeper was trying something new and something daring, when they could have made a sophomore album that hit all the same points as their debut and made people happy. They wanted to show they are artists, and that's what the album was all about.

Part of making a conceptual album is setting the scene and telling the story, so every song needs to serve those purposes. For Creeper, that meant there were songs from those sessions that didn't quite do that, and they are what make up this new EP. And as soon as they teased this release, it became very clear how committed they are to their art.

Why? Because the lead single here, "Midnight", is bloody fantastic. Sure, it cribs a fair amount from Springsteen's "Because The Night", but that was sort of the point of this whole chapter. Remember, "Thorns Of Love" pulled more than a little from "Bat Out Of Hell", after all. The point I'm making is that "Midnight" is such a good song, you wouldn't think it could have been left off the album, since it would have made that good record even better. Yet here we sit, and this is the reality we face. At least we're getting to hear it now.

Likewise, "Ghosts Over Calvary" is a rollicking tune with the same Springsteen feeling, but vocals from Hannah that completely belie the lyrics saying "I've got evil running through my veins." It isn't a dark and devilish song, but rather the sort of disguise he wears when trying to temp you over to his side. This song might just do that.

On the other hand, this is clearly an EP of parts left on the cutting room floor, and not a fully fleshed out work of art. We get three segue pieces that pad the running time without adding much, and two songs that were left off the main album for obvious reasons. "America At Midnight" is fairly drawn out and boring for only being three minutes long, while "One Of Us" is repetitive and builds to nothing. They fill time on an EP that only lasts 19 minutes, which is one of the worst things I can say.

So really, what we have here is a great two song single that's stretched out to an EP. Do yourself a favor and listen to "Midnight" and "Ghosts Over Calvary", because they're Creeper doing what they do so well. You can forget the rest of the EP exists, because it doesn't need to. It's merely an excuse to release two more songs that, if I'm being honest, should have been on "Sex, Death, & The Infinite Void". Who knows how high that record could have climbed with them included.

I wish I got the chance to find out.