Birmingham-based five-piece Flesh Creep describe themselves as “friendly people that make unfriendly music”; an accurate elevator pitch for a band that takes the ferocity of hardcore, underpinned by the emotion and experiences of working class upbringings within the Midlands. Integrating pop sonics, wry humour and a deliberate subversion of heavy music’s machismo finds Flesh Creep treating hardcore less as a home, and more as a foundation to build their own, constantly-evolving edifice. Their debut LP We Need You To Bleed, re-released earlier this year alongside their signing to Music For Nations, was an outright evisceration of inequality within the UK; taking aim at uneven power dynamics, misogyny, transphobia and oppression in all forms resulting in a fast, furious opening statement that went to war with society’s many ills. If their debut was a war cry for unheard voices across the world, then their follow up EP, Glimmer, which is announced today to be released 17th July, finds the band looking for shards of humanity on the battlefield. Acknowledging that in order to support your community, you need to be able to address the balance within yourself, Glimmer takes a more micro approach to the issues facing the band individually and looks introspectively towards the personal psyche rather than the collective. Sonically more diverse than its predecessor, Glimmer packs an unfathomable amount of ideas into its six tracks. We Need You To Bleed was the result of two years of finding their voice as a band, while Glimmer finds Flesh Creep asserting identity into that voice, delving into personal loss (‘Glimmer’), the uncomfortable role of the “frontman” (‘Straight Flush’), and immersing themselves deeper into melodics via their love of pop music than ever before, as they do on new single ‘Bubblegum’. Written primarily by the band’s drummer James, ‘Bubblegum’ takes his background in emo and pop punk, as well as his love of Justin Bieber and Motown, to veer Flesh Creep into the most driving territory of their career so far. Fusing the Flesh Creep’s traditional brand of bedlam with an overblown, powerful singalong chorus, ‘Bubblegum’ is Flesh Creep at their most immediate; asking why music can’t be venomous and irresistible, and doing it anyway. On the track, Flesh Creep vocalist Tom says:
“While it’s probably the most dynamic and dare I say, fun song that we’ve released to date, ‘Bubblegum’ is as confrontational and direct in its messaging as any song we’ve ever written. To put it plainly, there are those in our society who seek to abuse and exploit, and there’s the rest of us. We are not the same, we do not seek common ground, we will never be your friend.” On the EP, the bands says:
“GLIMMER takes a big leap forward for us as a band – questioning what FLESH CREEP can be. Overstepping often self-imposed genre motifs & authentically capturing both individual and collective journeys. Writing the record, early trials of each song (barring one) grew in front of live audiences, “road-testing” the in-person experience & the types of connections we want to make along the way. We want to subvert expectations, we want to satisfy but challenge, and to do this we’ve made this with the utmost care, love & respect.” The track’s video is a perfect encapsulation of Flesh Creep – using a traditional working men’s club as a background for diverse characters, all coming together in working class surroundings for a chaotic experience that’s filled with comedic moments. A simultaneously unhinged and hilarious celebration of the communities around the band, ‘Bubblegum’ takes the track’s explosive sound and applies it to a routine setting to find the magic in the mundane. With ‘Bubblegum’ and Glimmer, Flesh Creep are experimenting with their own intense formula, exploring new avenues and broadening the horizons of one of the UK’s most exciting emerging heavy bands. Merely a glimpse into the potential of Flesh Creep, July 17th will see another evolution in a group that will never stop confronting the difficult questions head on, creating incredible, incendiary art and hoping to see a better world both personally and collectively in the process. Glimmer is available to pre-order on limited run CD recycled digipak, and a pink & blue bubblegum 12” vinyl. Both formats are available on the Flesh Creep merch store HERE. FLESH CREEP
GLIMMER
RELEASED 17TH JULY 2026
(MUSIC FOR NATIONS) 
1. Flake
2. Bubblegum
3. Cheap Heat
4. Straight Flush
5. Optics
6. Glimmer Flesh Creep: Instagram | TikTok | 
