Fishboy - Classic Creeps

The new (well forthcoming) album by Fishboy, Classic Creeps, is awesome. It's as simple as that.

It's a concept album in the fact that there are a bunch of songs each pertaining to a different character (whose name begins with A), and that over the course of the album the disapparate strands of each characters stories are interwoven to produce an over arching narrative. It's an interesting idea. I can't think of too many similar ideas, I suppose Saint Etienne's 'Tales From Turnpike House' had some similar conceits, but that was more about invidual tales from people living in the same complex, whereas this ties all the stories together.

If that was the extent of the album though, simply it's cleverness then it would be nothing more than a slight distraction, something to mention to a friend in an "oh that's interesting" way and then forget about. The thing however is that it's also a fantastic pop/powerpop/indie pop record. It bounces, it jangles. It has french horn smeared all over and yet with a liberal touch. 'Alberto Simmons' alone is one of the best pop songs I've heard in years, but the whole record is crammed to the vinyl grooves with singalong, smile along, tunes.

The record is being released by Happy Happy Birthday to me records, who are doing some pretty interesting packages for this.


If that wasn't enough (and I should think that the offer of 9 seperate badges, a poster and a vinyl what satisfy even the biggest music and memorabilia and nice things glutton) there's a whole comic, included in the record too I think, telling the story of the record. You can find that on the Classic Creeps website

Oh and of course the important bit, you can stream the record on bandcamp.

Fishboy really should be applauded for the time and efford they've put in, to produce something which is both and intelligent and well though out piece of work which is also a brilliant and downright enjoyable album.