Spend Your Memorial Day Weekend Getting Creepy with Virginia Creep

The easy selling point for Virginia Creep is that the band shares frontman J.R. Hayes with a little band called Pig Destroyer. But that doesn’t mean you should consider Virginia Creep’s new three-song EP, Dark Corners, a stopgap until this fall’s release of new a PxDx album. For one thing, Virginia Creep make noise rock band in the vein of bands like the Melvins and The Jesus Lizard, not grindcore. Hayes’ shamanistic howls in Virginia Creep have little in common with the monstrous growls he makes for Pig Destroyer; if you didn’t know it was Hayes doing the vocals, you might never make the connection.

But another thing — and more importantly — Dark Corners is too goddamn good to be so easily dismissed. Think of a dark cloud bursting with a torrent of rain on a hot summer afternoon; Dark Corners is that same mix of moody foreboding and much-needed release. In fact, their entire sound is powered by that kind of schizophrenic tension; the music is often melodious and beautiful, but also just a little bit off, a little bit sour. EP opener “Jean of Arlington” offers exactly the sort of religious-ecstasy-gone-awry its title promises; “Sinister Muse,” the lyrics to which give Dark Corners its name, sounds like the institutionalized hate child KEN Mode and the Velvet Underground (it’s my personal favorite cut on the release); “Lucas” lumbers with purpose, like a predator in need of Prozac. I’ve had Dark Corners for a few weeks, during which time I’ve listened to it probably a dozen times, and I’m still unlocking its secrets. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Dark Corners is out today digitally and on cassette via Robotic Empire! You can stream it below or on Spotify. The band is hoping to have a full-length out by the end of the year; while we wait for that, be sure to keep up with them on Facebook.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx5bU1q5QWdmo2XFMsn1XXXNB8wC3skAh