Cincinnati Queerpunk band Creamboy have released Clean Up My Mind, a collection of 9 extremely catchy tracks. Creamboy describe themselves as having influences of "folk and indie rock with a punk ethos," and while apt, that description doesn't go far enough.
Listening to Clean Up My Mind brings up airs of The Slits, early Sleater-Kinney, and a million earnestly-recorded garage demos in the years after Nirvana. The album (or long EP, depending on your perspective) is short, running just over 26 minutes, but it utilizes the time well. From the lo-fi opening riff of "Brain Scans," the songs hook you. The lyrics deftly explore identity and relationships with a clarity and honesty lacking from - and sorely needed by - much of modern society. With Clean Up My Mind, Creamboy continue a tradition of shouting uncomfortable truths laid down by the greats of punk history with a record that would be perfectly at home hastily dubbed on a cassette with a photocopied insert.
It's hard to pick a highlight from a collection that runs so quickly and so well, but the title track "Clean Up My Mind" has a great vibe to go along with ferociously sincere lyrics, and (for those of who have been at this for a minute) the guitar at the beginning of "Miles" made me think of classic Cincinnati band Ditchweed, which always makes me smile. In short, this is a great record that makes me happy the auto-repeat setting exists.
Track List:
Brain Scans
Clean Up My Mind
Sick Dog Glass of Water
Miles
Heart So Stale
Christ On A Stick
Tarzan
W Out U
Brain Scans Reprise
