Sleep Forever – Crocodiles (Buy)
In the music industry, pop can be a filthy word. When used in the wrong context, it could mean a 15-year old girl with her very own Disney Channel show or, even worse, Justin Bieber. Putting those nightmares aside, pop can also be a wonderful thing, and San Diego band Crocodiles have proven that with their recent release.
Far from the mindless pop that pollutes our airwaves, Crocodiles, made up of Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez, have a sound that is both raucous art punk and noise pop. Their newest album since 2009’s Summer of Hate and their Christmas inspired 7-inch with the Dum Dum Girls, Sleep Forever is just as hauntingly catchy as their early work, and maybe even more so.
With some synthesized vocals and echoing guitar chords, this album has all the dirt and grime of their first-born, but with a new found eloquence. Crocodiles’ new cleaner approach could be lent to the fact that they got to work with producer James Ford, who is not only a member of Simian Mobile Disco, but has also produced such recent greats as Florence & the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, and Klaxons. As a result, Crocodiles are by no means “selling out”, but spreading their message of hate life/love music through a more simple and accessible route. The album opens with their first track “Mirrors”, which acts as a perfect introduction. Laced with fast paced beats and untamable guitar, the lyrics sound darker than they actually are (Something in the way you crucify me/it makes me smile).
Though the album has a great overlying, dark haze to its lyrics, you can’t help but feel at ease with their carefully crafted tracks. An ode to psychedelic stoner rock, “Stoned to Death” sounds just like the title and could be mistaken for a track off the Halloween album. Highlighting the band’s overall bipolarity, the leading single, “Sleep Forever”, encompasses the album’s darkness in one tidy package without sounding entirely pessimistic.
On the lighter side of things, “Hearts of Love”, sounds just plain giddy when compared to the rest of their work. With the appropriate use of a xylophone in the background, though, it still retains that certain air of gloominess. The last track off their short but sweet 35-minute album, “All of my Hate and Hexes Are For You”, epitomizes the young band’s sound and does a good job of sending the listener off with a sense of question and doubt. If Crocodiles know how to do anything, it’s to open their album with style and leave with a bang.
