The note taped to my forehead read, “Thanks for the good times, hotstuff. Love, Creature.” It was written in red lipstick. All around me lay drained bottles of Mezcal and beer, which would explain the headache. This hotel room was finished, and my partners in crime had left me alone to deal with the aftermath. But screw it. It’s the price you pay to party with Creature.    

The night before, I was at a concert at Mexico City’s imposing Estadio Azteca, one in a sea of 90,000 screaming fans. When Creature took the stage, the decibel-level erupted, and if the stadium had a roof, it would have been blown right off. Their songs were giddy and anthemic, their energy bold and reckless. 90,000 people in the palm of their hands, and I was one of them. 

Creature joined forces in 2005 when Kim Ho, Sid-Z, and Lisa Ivy--all seasoned Montreal musicians--experienced a potent chemistry they hadn’t felt in previous bands. Their mission: To chew you up and spit you out. Their self-produced debut album, No Sleep at All, was a liberating, hook-heavy record that impressed the brass at Universal, who signed them on the spot. But they weren’t the only ones impressed with Creature’s fresh sound. The Queen of New Wave herself, Debbie Harry of Blondie, called the band “fantastic” after catching their show in New York, just one of many stops on a tour that saw them travel the world. 

On the back of hits like the punch-drunk knockout, “Who’s Hot Who’s Not,” No Sleep was a sensation in Europe, Mexico, and Canada, culminating in a 2009 Juno nomination for Pop Album of the Year. Finally, when there was no stage left unplayed and no breast left unsigned, the road-weary band (you try taking

11 plane rides in 14 days) returned to their Montreal lair and began planting the seeds for their second album. 

Though the experience of producing their debut album was one they’ll never forget, Creature knew that on this record, they had to take it up a notch. They sent six new demos to their dream-collaborator, legendary producer Stephen Hague (New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Blur, Peter Gabriel), who was so taken by their sound, he had them on the first plane to England. It was the summer of 2010, and Creature found themselves recording with Hague in the notorious SARM Studios, where Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna had laid down tracks before them. Though the recording process was heavy and damn near broke their backs, it was worth it. 

Sick Imagination is Creature’s sophomore album, expanding on the playful power pop of No Sleep with tracks like the pulsating “So High,” and the controversial, “Prom Prom,” whose radio-ready chorus (“It’s prom prom and you’re a lesbian”) has artists eager to land the first remix. With Stephen Hague’s trademark flourishes littered throughout the record, this is Creature at their most robust. If No Sleep was their introduction to the world, Sick Imagination is their statement.