Fishboy | Taking a Look At Classic Creeps

The lighthearted indie pop act from the great State of Texas, Fishboy are set to release their seventh album Classic Creeps. If you are only hearing about Fishboy for the first time you’re not the only one. The band, which is based out of Denton Texas, has spent the past ten or so years in relative obscurity. Hopefully their seventh album will mark a change in their obscurity, because one thing is for certain, Classic Creeps is a special kind of wonderful.  

Classic Creeps has a distinctively upbeat style that closely resembles that of a long done indie act Neutral Milk Hotel. Healthy amounts of horns, piano and guitar, matched with the vocal styling’s of lead singer (the Fishboy himself) Eric Michener come together to make something that might remind some of The New Pornographers, lest Neko Case. All of these elements come together in Classic Creeps to tell the stories of people and places that have been brought to life by individual needlepoint portraits which accompany each song and also collectively constitute the album cover. That’s right Fishboy’s album cover is rocking grandma’s needlepoint handiwork French Knots and all. There is nothing like a little make it yourself initiative in creating a unique album cover, just ask the boys of My Grey Horse. These individualized needlepoint portraits that accompany each track do serve a purpose, in that they provide the listener an instant point of reference otherwise who would about Alyson Revere’s internet addiction or Alberto Simmons’ bloody nose. Each person’s song on Classic Creeps, fictional or not, have been brought to life by the natural texture depicted in the lyrics of each song. The songs depict regular people through the eyes of charismatic musicians making each track on the album pleasant and colourful character studies.     

Fishboy’s Classic Creeps is no doubt going to make it onto a few "best of" list by the end of 2011.