Fat Creeps - Must Be Nice LP (Sophomore Lounge, 2014)
Fat Creeps released their highly anticipated full-length LP "MUST BE NICE" on Sophomore Lounge (cassette version via Gnar Tapes) in July of 2014. The band's debut self-titled EP, released in 2012 on KLYAM Records (followed by a killer split 12" with ZEBU! on Feeding Tube Records the following year), earned them a Boston Music Awards nomination, as well as a nod from Stereogum as a "Band To Watch," among other accolades, and a growlingly reputable live set within the Massachusetts underground art/bar/basement scene.
Many of the songs on this album, such as the noisy/cool "Back 2 Skool," were composed collaboratively by the trio. Yet Fat Creeps' latest album is a testament to the ever present contrast between the songwriting styles of bassist Mariam Saleh and guitarist Gracie Jackson. The duo's influences ("Death, Devo, Destiny's Child") crash, bend, and blend into a melodic swarm, sewn by the beats of drummer Jim Leonard, whom has parted ways with the band since the completion of the LP. But every hook-heavy pop outfit has a dark side. The album's moodier jams like "Comes in Loudly" are, as SPIN puts it, "their most expansive works yet. Over heavy drums and psychedelic guitars, the hushed harmonizing between Saleh and Jackson makes for an intimate experience." Ten songs of lovingly straight-forward, revved-up Amp/Breeder bliss.