Review
The Creeps
These Walls

Black Pint (2009) Loren

The Creeps – These Walls cover artwork
The Creeps – These Walls — Black Pint, 2009

What much can I really say? This style has been done numerous times. The Creeps play infectious, upbeat punk, born of the Ramones and sculpted by Screeching Weasel. Somewhere in the genre's history, bands like the Groovie Ghoulies shifted the concept from straightforward silliness towards specific niches. The Creeps carry that torch onward.

On These Walls The Creeps play their music well, with the harmonies running together smoothly at appropriate times, and there's enough variation between the five songs here that it doesn't sound like the needle is stuck, despite the lone beat that permeates the record. When things start getting samey, singer Skottie Lobotomy throws in a Glenn Danzig style "whoa-oh" to break it up. I'm amazed it still works after all these years, but it gets me singing along every time I hear it. The band can set a good pogo tempo and transition into melody smoothly and that's their strength. However, it's strictly genre music and there is a wealth of current-running bands with a similar sound. There's probably one in your town, wherever that may be.

In short, The Creeps do the pop-punk thing pretty well. If you're a fan of the genre and its recent crop of bands, you should definitely check them out. But, if you only have a passing interest you may as well move on. You already know what this band sounds like.

6.5 / 10Loren • October 14, 2009

The Creeps – These Walls cover artwork
The Creeps – These Walls — Black Pint, 2009

Recently-posted album reviews

Bitter Branches

Let's Give The Land Back To The Animals
Equal Vision (2026)

Sometimes when you think of a town you think of a certain sound. Philadelphia is not one of those cities for me, as the bands I know from the area vary a lot in style. Yes, there is the Dan Yemin tree (Lifetime / Kid Dynamite / Paint It Black) but there are also poppy bands and emo bands and … Read more

Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs

Pigus Drunkus Maximus (Reissue)
Blind Owl Records (2026)

If rock ’n’ roll ever had a smoky, beer-soaked, throbbing heartbeat, it lives in Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs’ Pigus Drunkus Maximus. Recorded in 1981 but not released until 1987 on Restless Records, the album always felt like a document out of time — lightning caught like fireflies in clumsy hands, then bottled too long. This newly remastered reissue, … Read more

Dream Fatigue

No Requiem
Daze (2026)

There’s a particular tension that makes alternative rock compelling. I love the emotional push and pull between softness and eruption. On No Requiem, Massachusetts outfit Dream Fatigue thrive in that space, crafting a seven song EP that balances dreamlike melody with bursts of distortion and emotional urgency. Born from the creative partnership between drummer Matt Wood and vocalist Jonali McFadden, … Read more