The smallest Creature

About

" 90s style alt-rock with a melodic flair "

The smallest Creature make a canny blend of crunching alternative rock riffs, a knack for psychedelia, and candied pop melodies, a combination that brings to mind the 90s heyday of big-alt rock records like Muse’s first album and Stone Temple Pilots. That said, it would be unfair to frame them in relation to the artists they are channeling. Because TsC is a solid band, keeping their balance and leaving room for everyone to breathe: Stefanos Marnerides’ melodic vocals, Iacovos Stylianides’ dynamic drumming, Pavlos Papadopoulos’ crazy basslines, and Andreas Matheou’s razor-edged guitars. 2023 confirms those strengths with a passion, throughout a series of singles released alongside recent EP ‘Queen’, which openly paves the way for a new album release.  The mood may change according to the songs’ story and rhythm, whether it’s about love (‘Queen’) or chaos (‘What Color is The Rain’), but there’s always cohesion.

The smallest Creature was the solo act of Cyprus-born guitarist Stefanos Marnerides while he was performing in New York City, before gradually creating the full band as we know it today. Their debut album, ‘Million’, released in 2016, is strong on powerful vocals, esoteric lyrics, and dramatic shifts in sonic dynamics, that really shines in the swirling darkness of ‘High Low You’, ‘Reboot’, and ‘Sleep Baby’. Four years later, in the sophomore ‘Magic Beans’, they built on their alt-rock roots and gloomy hooks, but there are also times when the band takes an Arctic Monkeys-like glamorous indie rock approach (‘October Song’), grunge descendent from Nirvana (‘Glow’), and Radiohead-like progressive touches (‘The Mist’). The production is neat, and the alt-rock is straight-forward, from a band that has fought for their craft.