The Mission Creeps newest album ‘Fright Night Creep Out’ is horrifyingly delightful and will excite the darkness in us all!

Desert Noise
Jul 24, 2017 · 4 min read

Arizona is already a shocking place to live with a blistering summer heat that usually lasts 4–6 months of the year. But knowing that a frightfully driven and exciting dark party band like The Mission Creeps exists is even more of an anomaly.

The first track and namesake of their newest record is ‘Fright Night Creep Out’. The jolting piece starts with a cascading laugh by none other than James Arr. When the chorus hits I feel like I’m walking into a surf-like “Doors” party at a hole in the wall film noir club full of creep culture, lights, and surreal people. And it all ends with a meaty howl!

‘Party By The Lake’ is truly the perfect segue. It feels so natural as a transition, and has a fatter groove and yet another beautiful hook. “You can’t kill me / you can’t kill me / cause I’m already dead” swirls into your ears like a cigarette addict feeling a nicotine fix. I also love the use of gators, sharks, and drinking pills out of skulls.

That’s right! A theremin and shaker bring us into the next dimension of the record. This is about as close as you can get to perfectly merging a dark and psychedelic soundscape into a song. ‘Doing Time In Ol’ Tucson’ has some strong words of wisdom, “You gotta reach up / to make it in this land”. The song also has a lot of iconic realities of living in Arizona. As someone who was born and raised in Arizona I highly appreciated hearing some of the unique things about the place.

‘Not As Wicked As You’ brings back a driving rhythm after taking us through the Tucson dimension. The hooks this band writes are so damn catchy each time I hear a new song. I seriously am at this point having a hard time choosing a favorite song, which is usually easier for me to do. The dialogue about other wicked things in the world really give this song a great depth. Also the super chilling breakdown around the 3 minute mark. This music needs to be in an episode of Stranger Things 2, like yesterday!

The next scary delight on this record is ‘Hexed (Some Form of Witchcraft)’. It’s important to mention the chemistry of the trio sounds so tight. You can really hear it in the recording too. Special shout out to Miss Frankie Stein and George Palenzuela throughout this great album for laying down some great bass and percussion.

‘Paint It Black’ is a famous cover by a band I’m sure I don’t even have to mention. I have to admit the edge and sound of this one has a modern fire that really encapsulates a new sharp and aggressive tone. Though it never wanders far from the stylistic elements of the original I can’t help, but say that I’m probably going to listen to this song more than the original. Hope Mick Jagger and the rest of the boys don’t mind.

‘Killer Gnome’! I mean first off; a freaking great title. But the lyrics are what make the song even more fun. I invite you to listen to the story of this short little sociopath ha. Still no favorite song. I guess The Mission Creeps are just a group that writes a plethora of thrilling and chilling hits.

‘Wasted’ is a Andrew WK style party song to the end. It made me grab a beer. I stopped writing and paused the song just to get a beer. And that breakdown at 2 minutes is the sexiest on the whole record. This band is a Tucson treasure.

The Mission Creeps are fiendishly talented, exciting, and hauntingly brilliant. Buy their records before zombies come eat your brains!

https://themissioncreeps.bandcamp.com

Article written by: Jacob Acosta

Jacob is a writer, producer, musician, and teacher who lives in Tucson, AZ. He has been a music professional in film, advertising, and performance for 13 years. Connect with him at:

http://jacobacostamusic.com

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