Crocodiles – “Sleep Forever”
Hailing from my hometown of San Diego and trying their best to subscribe as little as possible to that sunny Southern California disposition. These lads sound like they have spent way more time in sunless studios getting every conceivable sound out of a new effects pedal or amp setting than enjoying the gaze of the constant sun or the glow given off by the beautiful people.
Sculpting their sound out of the approach of fellow noise merchants like Swervedriver and The Jesus and Mary Chain, Crocodiles show a firm grip on the tiller of tone manipulation. At almost every moment there are layers and layers of guitars and new nuances are found every time out. This symphony of commotion is however given an outward sheen with the layering of vocals supplementing the march of the guitar army.
The dark and often times macabre lyrical content is also an alternative to fun in the sun. This approach is ever present but is brought into sharp focus by tracks like the tongue-in-cheek bonus track mash up of Groove Is In The Heart/California Girl with its delicious distortion or All My Hate And Hexes Are For You with its voodoo groove.
Maybe with all the foreclosures and empty houses along those palm-tree lined streets, Southern California is not quite the holiday destination it has been seen as for all those years. If that’s the case then bands like Crocodile can provide just the right amount of darkness to bring about equilibrium. Rob Hudson
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