Crocodiles - Sleep Forever
- Written by Antonio Tzikas
Not much time has passed since Summer of Hate, the debut album from San Diego duo Crocodiles garnered critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, and they’re already back with a spacey mix of shimmering shoegaze, ‘60s garage-punk grit and droning psychedelia in the form of follow up Sleep Forever. Whereas their debut record focused heavily on the garage rock/post punk side of things, Sleep Forever takes a few Valium and heads off into the direction of psychedelic (I mean the prescription pills and grey concrete 80’s British kind rather than the acid and weed kind) dream rock, a strange land inhabited by few bands, most of them in some way affiliated with Jason Pierce or Pete Kember, both of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized and Spectrum respectively.
From the very beginning of opener ‘Mirrors‘ to the very end of rather brilliant closer ‘All My Hate & Hexes Are For You’, Crocodiles manage to capture the essence, sincerity and the energy necessary to be taken seriously, from heavier more Velvets-y tunes like ‘Stoned To Death’ that thump along to a primal beat to fragile, floating numbers like ‘Girl in Black‘, a highlight that replicates the sound of a foggy come down whilst having just woken up on a big pile of soft feathers, a feeling perfected by the Spacemen all those years ago.
Shorter than most at only eight tracks long, the record has three distinct styles on it - there’s the ones mentioned above, then there’s the fuzzed up 60’s garage stompers ‘Hollow Hollow Eyes‘ with a riff reminiscent of ‘Have Love Will Travel‘ and ‘Billy Speed‘. Both great single material and both add that dimension of reference to the record, showing Crocodiles know where their album has come from and what they are trying to continue. It’s the title track ‘Sleep Forever’ however that blends all three in perfect amounts - if you hear this song first you’ll instantly know what the record is about and luckily it’s the lead single.
Singer Brandon Welchez’s classic US indie vocal, smothered in reverb and echo, suits the instrumentation and production down to a tee and gives the record a slightly more upbeat feeling than that of its forebears - one of optimism rather than despair or total numbness. The music rather than the lyrics on this record are what draw you in initially, mainly due to the low and washy vocal mix, but further listening reveals some accomplished and mature lyrics coming from deep down amongst the noise.
The message here is one of sonic escapism both sonically and metaphorically, the eight songs on show act as getaway car from the mundanity of the urban sprawl to, well...wherever you’d rather be. Crocodiles used their band as a means to escape from their decaying, lifeless neighbourhood and would like to offer you the chance to do the same. The music on this record captures the best elements of all that has inspired its conception and adds to it the band's own joyful explosions of optimism. Perfect for a cold, grey and drizzly summers afternoon spent indoors with a wooly jumper on.