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.