Named as one of the hottest tips for 2017 in Music Week’s poll-of-polls, Southampton’s theatrical punk sextet Creeper are standing on the cusp of a massive breakthrough. Having earned three major awards last year – Best British Newcomer at the Kerrang! Awards, Best New Band at the Metal Hammer Golden God Awards and Best British Newcomer in Rock Sound readers’ poll – the band have released their new single Black Rain, which is the opening track to their debut album ETERNITY, IN YOUR ARMS which is released March 24th and is available to pre-order now.
The album was produced by the band’s regular collaborator Neil Kennedy at The Ranch and then mixed by Neal Avron (Twenty One Pilots). Black Rain encapsulates all of the key traits that make this team of outsiders an inspiration for a growing congregation of fans: there’s a breakneck burst of punk, moments of high drama, the black-hearted romance of the lyrics, a huge sing-a-long chorus carried by Will Gould’s impassioned vocals, and the contrasting tones of keyboardist / second vocalist Hannah Greenwood.
“Black Rain is the third single from the album Eternity In Your Arms and one of our favourites. A progression again from the singles released so far, this song shows the full range of the band on this album. It marks the first time Hannah has sung a part alone on a Creeper track and also serves as the introduction to the record itself.” says Gould.
The video for Black Rain extends the mysterious narrative that was established in the band’s previous video for Hiding With Boys. Set just two days later on Christmas Day, private investigator James Scythe is continuing his explorations on the south coast to debunk the legend of ‘The Stranger’ and the ‘Callous Heart Gang’ – yet he still can’t escape his own demons.
ETERNITY, IN YOUR ARMS is an album that sees the band wrestling with existential crises, personal failures and emotional desolation via the kaleidoscope of a richly drawn narrative tapestry. Ostensibly a punk band, Creeper’s sonic palette draws on everything from Alkaline Trio and Jawbreaker to Meat Loaf, David Bowie and Queen, while the band’s precisely honed aesthetic echoes everything from the surreal flair of David Lynch to the sci-fi shock of The X-Files, the gut-twisting horror of The Exorcist, and the camp Technicolor of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet.
