“Wishing Well” opens Philly four-piece Creepoid’s latest release Horse Heaven (Ian Records) with foreboding drums and shimmering shakes, creating a threshold of lush orchestration that befittingly frames Sean Miller at the vocal forefront. “Wishing Well” extends audibly as emotively open towards its listener, casting it as a tempered primer to the mood of the album’s progress. Tape music turned nearly folk, Creepoid has evolved from intentionally fuzzed out anthems to empathetic tracks that expand on the band’s strengths while unveiling new instances of melodic genius and concise craft. “Dream Out” begins soft and enchanting, doubling in sound near the two-minute mark with duet worthy repeats of “but I do” compliments of Anna and Pat Troxell. Coupled with psyched out power chords that rip through your soul and Pete Joe Urban’s soaring guitar riffs and strategic reverb, “Dream Out” serves as a lyrical landscape to which Creepoid’s lines are as intelligible as their instrumentation. Like a more brooding Beach House (pre-Teen Dream). The opening tracks of Horse Heaven possess a haunting charm rooted in the band’s ability to nurture their sound as a collective past the predictable. This act of nurturing paints “Staircase” transcendent, its acoustic chords and washed out backup vocals in synergy with quasi-surf rock riffs electrified. Compiling a handful of sub-genre specifications, “Staircase” intermingles an arch of indie tropes, rendering the track much like decoupage, a creation neatly composed of various influences and parts, emerging as something new. In “Emily”, you find two part harmonies and crisp tambourine accents flowing in with an endearing calmness embedding the track’s lyrical structure within the fabric of its instrumental depth subconsciously conjuring up longings for those childhood summer vacation days at the shore. “Hollow Doubt” is where you find former hardcore kids really start to reveal their misspent youth to the listener. Sound recordings and familiar bluesy guitar licks are paired with snaps that escalate into full throttle grunge through the duration of “Grave Blanket” allowing Creepoid to bare some teeth. “Spirit Birds” opens with what sounds like wind and distant riffs that bend, recede then surge forth alongside dissonant clangs of cymbal and quasi-staccato like beats. With a similar melancholy found in the songs of Lehigh Valley experimentalists Soars, Horse Heaven’s latter tracks harbor a mysterious depth that permeates from each outro to intro, placing the album’s title track as bridging the time lapse of “Find You Out” and “Enabler” through melody. Bringing to mind wintery landscapes and a vibe of springtime dusks, Creepoid’s Horse Heaven is definitely an enjoyable eternity if you can see how the fallen angels might be right. You can purchase and download the LP here or grab the vinyl via Ian Records. – Dianca Potts
Grave Blanket by Creepoid