Tag Archives: Becca Bomb

THE CREEPING IVIES- Love Kills.

Posted on by

 

 

If I really wanted to get back at my neighbour right now I’d be playing something truly awful like Cradle Of Filth super loud, or I could treat the inconsiderate swine to something like The Creeping Ivies. Instead I am being thoughtful and selfless and playing them through headphones. See sometimes, I can be alright.

As you know I’m big on duos. Two people can change their own world and influence those around them. Don’t change the world, change your own. Duos to me are just perfect. They hit the drums harder, they scream a little louder, they turn their guitar amps a bit more, the bass-line makes you move a bit more. There’s something about duos that make you feel as if you are part of something.

A duo that I absolutely adore are The Creeping Ivies. I’ve written about them so many times, and even if they stopped making music (I don’t want to think about that) I’d probably still write about them. Their sound is everything I love about music. It is a mixture of bands I’ve grown up listening to and with something else I can’t really define. Becca and Duncan are stylish folks who play with the passion that a lot lack.

Love Kills is taken from their new record Ghost World which is out this year. Becca’s vocals are egged on by Duncan’s ferocious drum thumping. They’ve made a sound that is found in no one else around, which is why I truly adore them. Most fawn over shitty folk bands crying into their banjos (sounds worse written down) but why buy into something so trivial when bands like The Creeping Ivies exist. Sure they may not be to everyone’s taste (cut those people out of your life, they probably wear crocs or chinos) but they are keeping alive one of if not THE most important genre of music of all time- Punk. They’ve got the attitude of Patti and the Ramones mixed with the raw sound of say, The Cramps. Basically, they sound like everything I love which is why of course, I am a fan.

They sound like the band I’ve been waiting for. That’s the only way I can describe them. They are what you’ve been waiting for.

Play loudly.

THE CREEPING IVIES-What Would Joey Ramone Do?/Ramona Wolf.

Posted on by

 

 

The Creeping Ivies have been a band I have cherished for some time. I remember when I first heard them I immediately wished I was slightly musically gifted because they made the kind of music I wish I could make. If I was in a band, this is EXACTLY how I’d want them to sound. I’d probably be slightly more aggressive just to be obnoxious for the hell of it. Why not! Music is freedom and is also a way of putting on an act. Maybe it wouldn’t be an act.

I love Becca and Duncan because they are two of the best musicians I’ve heard in quite some time. Becca is a stunning guitar player who has this control in her vocals that is found in the likes of Patti Smith. Then you have Duncan who reminds me of a young Bobby Gillespie in The Jesus And Mary Chain; playing with fury and the desire to make your body move in the most outrageous way possible. The Creeping Ivies make you want to turn your back on everything society expects from you, everything your family, friends, lovers, peers and the like too. They make you turn into the person you want to be by creating such freedom in their music.

The Creeping Ivies have a new double A-side single out very soon, What Would Joey Ramone Do?/Ramona Wolf.

What Would Joey Ramone Do? Is probably one of the things I say to myself when something baffles me. Sometimes I substitute Joey Ramone for Morrissey. What Would Joey Ramone Do? is The Creeping Ivies at their creepy best. It reminds me ever so slightly of their song, Ghost Train. Mainly for the brilliant trembling you can hear in Becca’s voice, she seriously has one of the most distinctive voices I’ve heard in a very long time. When I listen to The Creeping Ivies, it just makes me wish they were playing London some time soon. Stupid commitments got in the way last time. Always the way. What Would Joey Ramone Do? is an excellent punch in the gut kind of song. It makes you want to leap about the way Joey used to do whilst wearing your battered leather (fake leather for me) jacket until every ounce of frustration falls out of you.

 

 

Ramona Wolf sounds like the soundtrack to the most pleasurable nightmare you’ll ever have. You can imagine being hunted down in a desolate and murky forest by the most stunning vixen; you run and run, but you don’t care if she catches up with you because you are in awe of her beauty. You probably start caring once she rips you to shreds though, always the way isn’t it. Ramona Wolf sends chills down your spine, as you immediately feel as if you are trapped in the woods with no way out. The feral beast called Ramona will get you, you might as well let her.

The Creeping Ivies are one of the very very few bands who take their influence of Punk and Garage rock and use it in a way that doesn’t seem like a blatant rip-off. What they have done is, taken bits of both and created something that I do hope in years to come will be influencing other bands to make this kind of music. If you cannot scare the shit out of those listening at least once, you’re probably doing something wrong.

Becca and Duncan will be releasing their second record, Ghost World early next year via Dead Beat Records. I have every faith in them that they will create something equally as mind-blowing as their debut, Stay Wild. When I wear a t-shirt of The Creeping Ivies, it feels the same as wearing a (fake) leather jacket. It is like armor/protection. It makes me feel like nothing can touch me; their music has the same effect. Except, I don’t wear the shirt as much as I’d like because I’ve ripped it. Most of my clothes are ripped, but it’s okay. I’ll probably just get a new one.

Anyway.

The double A-side single is out 16th November (4 days after my birthday) on Holy Smoke Records. You can stream the single right here: http://thecreepingivies.bandcamp.com/

THE CREEPING IVIES-Spinning(video.)

Posted on by

IdonM-CREEPING IVIES-front

 

I’ve backed The Creeping Ivies for some time now. When I saw they finally had some merch out, I had to buy a shirt. I wear it with complete pride; proud that I’m a fan of such an incredible band. A band that have the backbone of a genre I hold very close to my heart (Punk) mixed with this insanely good lo-fi/Garage Rock feel. It is just perfect. Becca and Duncan are perfect; and they completely and utterly reinforce my love for duos, and why I love duos.

This evening they put out the video Spinning which is taken from their stunning debut record, Stay Wild. The video sees them stomping around mixed with a live performance. To be honest though, they could have made a video and done nothing at all and I’d think it was wonderful. I just absolutely love them a hell of a lot.

If you like music that shakes up your soul and leaves you feeling a bit sinister; then The Creeping Ivies are for you.

The Creeping Ivies- Stay Wild.

Posted on by

 

Some may regard Christmas as the highlight of December, personally I’m not a fan. The music addict in me always looks forward to the end of year releases that creep up on you, unexpected but much-needed. It happens every year, and it is the perfect end to the year. You’ve just got to seek it out.

My love for The Creeping Ivies is out of my hands, and deeply rooted in my head. It is ever-growing and cements my love for Scottish bands more than I even knew. Scottish bands just offer you something entirely more powerful and passionate than most.

With their previous EP releases, The Creeping Ivies have always left me wanting more and more. Frequently hitting repeat and knowing the words by heart after the third listen. You take the passion they play with and it fuels your love for them. Stay Wild is evidently going to be this year’s hidden treasure. With so much manufactured tripe around, bands like The Creeping Ivies offer you hope that out there are bands making music with such heart, and more importantly; making their own unique sound.

Stay Wild makes you want to dance as if you have no control over your limbs. It makes you want to lose your mind and no longer care for your current surroundings. Nothing matters as Duncan and Becca take you on an insane and dark journey. This journey will freak you out and it will make you feel as if your soul has been cleansed. The aftermath will of course leave you wanting more; that repeat button is going to get abused. Trust me. The title track is the kind of song you’d imagine to hear at the end of the night with everyone chanting back. Covered in sweat, various spirits being spilled over their leather jackets and their boots. It’s a pure record that deserves to be heard.

You are going to hear comparisons such as “They are just like The Cramps” and such. Becca’s voice is obviously going to be compared to the likes of Siouxsie, but she has the power of Patti Smith in her vocals. I’m not a fan of comparing bands to others, but on this fantastic debut record, Becca’s vocals truly have the strength of Patti Smith. Duncan is Duncan Destruction for a reason. He absolutely slays and beats the shit out of the drums. As much as I adore their EPs, this debut full length record is nothing short of perfection. The sound much more powerful and a hell of a lot more eerie. They have the power to freak you the fuck out and make you want to dance all at once.

Listening to this wonderful record, you can truly picture it being played in dark, basement bars with people looking a bit like zombies, shaking their limbs and staring deep into the underworld. Possibly coming for your soul. The Creeping Ivies are one of the very few bands that manage to stay true to the essence of Garage Rock, yet merge something wonderfully strange with it. Everything about Stay Wild is just a delight to listen to. The production is amazing.

Bands such as The Creeping Ivies fully justify my love for duos. Duos make more noise and work harder for your affections. The Creeping Ivies are rowdy and bold. The Creeping Ivies take you on a whirlwind trip that you don’t ever want to come back from. The songs are played in a frenzy sending you off into another world. Utterly divine. I think my world was far too boring without these guys. The Creeping Ivies make you want to lurk about in places such as desolate buildings or cemeteries. Finding sacred things, seeing things no one else would ever believe Part mind-altering, part mind-blowing.

Stay Wild is out 1oth December on US label, Dead Beat Records.

The Creeping Ivies- Ghost Train (video.)

Posted on by

For the past week or so I have been waiting and waiting for this video to come out. The Creeping Ivies are the best band to come out of Scotland since The Jesus And Mary Chain. Oh and Shirley Manson too of course! That woman is my one true inspiration. So yes, The Creeping Ivies are THAT perfect.

Ghost Train is a brilliant video. It is as eerie as the song. The song sounds like The Cramps got busy with Siouxsie Sioux. That’s always a good thing. The Creeping Ivies  are pretty much everything I love about music. They have a creepy sound made by two. They are loud and brutal. For me they are like a freaky version of The Kills. I just bloody adore this band a hell of a lot. I must say, they are my favourite new (ish) band of the year. The EP that it is taken from is stunning.

Don’t put Becca and Duncan into any genre, they go beyond everything that is around right now. Enjoy the video.

The video was done by Ciaran Lyons and you can find out more about him here:  www.seaoflyons.com

The Creeping Ivies-Ghost Train EP.

Posted on by

 

 

I’ve said it so many many times before- if a piece of music doesn’t scare me then I may not enjoy it. I have to find a terrifying element to it. I’m not entirely sure why. Horror films don’t scare me, I usually have a delightful laughing fit at a really bad part of the time. “OH LOOK THERE’S A LOAD OF BLOOD!!!” Cue me getting the giggles.

A few weeks ago I wrote some words about a band that, with first listen scared me and stole my heart. The Creeping Ivies come from Scotland. Yes, I class everything from Scotland (in a music sense) to be amazing. This all stems from my obsession with Garbage and The Jesus And Mary Chain. I think my logic is perfectly justified right here.

The Creeping Ivies have an EP coming out 1st June. It’s called Ghost Train. It is eerie, dark and wonderfully ghoulish. It will shake up your bones and mind-fuck you in such a glorious way. It feels like a woman who has committed a murder. It is menacing and charming. It is everything I love about music.

I have only one bad thing to say about this EP ; three tracks just aren’t enough. I’ll have this on repeat for as long as I can stay awake in order to feel like I’ve heard a full record. I don’t mind. I could listen to Duncan and Becca all day, every day. I’ll let you in on something, I do it anyway.

Alright, so..Ghost Train is coming out on Jet Black Records and was recorded in a desolate space in Glasgow (okay it may not have been, but it was recorded in Glasgow..I’m just making assumptions for dramatic effect.)

The Creeping Ivies are influenced by two bands that I adore, the Ramones and The Cramps. They have the creepy vibe of The Cramps and the short Punk driven tracks much like the Ramones. Fast, furious and fucking incredible. The fury and vibrations in Becca’s voice makes you want to dance like Debbie Harry in the video to Atomic by Blondie. Shaking on the spot, jolting your limbs in an insane manner.

If you’re looking for something to turn your world upside down, for the better. Or if you constantly think “What Would John Peel Do?” then give yourself up to The Creeping Ivies. If John Peel was still alive, and my goodness I wish he were..The Creeping Ivies probably would’ve done a Peel session by now. Sadly, they never will but it is bands like these that keep everything John Peel dedicated his life to alive.

Check them out and let yourself be freaked out to the core!

The Creeping Ivies.

Posted on by

I find probably half the bands I listen to by accident. I guess this proves that there isn’t always a bad side to accidents. Much like the other morning when I walked head first in a girl’s chest because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going..and I’m not really that tall. I think it was the only time I’ve enjoyed being a short arse. My accidents are more fun than yours?

As I dedicate my life, and time to music (I’m not waiting for a distraction, I like this) finding bands like The Creeping Ivies just make me glad I do this. They are influenced by all the bands I love. Now, a lot of the time some put Velvet Underground and the Ramones as an influence just to sound “cool” and when you listen to them, they sound like something bad like Blink 182 you know? I hate that. Pop-Punk makes me want to tear my ears off. There is nothing Punk about it at all. Joey Ramone spins in his grave when you call him as an influence and play that style of music, serious.

Okay, enough of the rant. I just had to get that out. I did it as tame as I could.

The Creeping Ivies take all they are influenced by and create this intense, eerie sound. It probably scares you shitless. But if you look at Becca and Duncan, they seem pretty harmless. Yes, there’s just two of them. Another duo I can put on my list of  duos that I adore. I’ll place them just above Beach House.

They come from Scotland, and ever since my love for Garbage started I decided that Scotland produces amazing music. The Creeping Ivies fully justify my love for Scottish bands and also, duos. They’re just a really good band that you can lose your mind to. Maybe do some dancing if you feel like it, that’s your call. I won’t tell you to dance. It’s an act that you cannot force upon a person.

So I guess they’ll get The Cramps comparison thrown at them constantly. It’s not a bad thing, but I guess it can get tiresome. They’ve perfected their own sound that will probably shock people when they discover where they are from and the fact they exist NOW. A brand new band. Their track, Shake It Up reminds me so much of the early Yeah Yeah Yeahs stuff. The Creeping Ivies have this fucking brilliant rustly and distorted sound, it really comes alive on their track Buggin’ Around (which is my favourite for now)

They create so much noise and there’s only two of them. They have a sound that you think you have heard before, listen a bit harder and you’ll realise that this is unlike anything else you’ve heard.

It is dark and intense at its finest. This is going to go beyond being just another band crush. This is probably going to be cemented in my way of life. Whatever the hell that may be right now.