Crocodiles Announce 'Endless Flowers'

Crocodiles are one of those bands that have managed to cut through the noise and stay on Stark's radar longer than most bands. Perhaps it was the amazing show we caught long ago at Pianos, or Crocodiles' innate ability to channel vintage noise rock we love (Jesus and Mary Chain) but we're still excited whenever we hear news of new music. Yesterday, they announced their third LP and first for Frenchkiss (after leaving Fat Possum), Endless Flowers, releasing June 5th. They're going to be hitting SX hard, and playing two NY shows Glasslands and Mercury April 11 and 12. Full tour dates after the jump. The new track sounds great - brighter - catchier - with flashes of Pains of Being Pure at Heart, but with some balls. The textures are thick, and the guitars piled on top of hook-laden male female vocals. Very glad these guys have managed to stick around.

Crocodiles - Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9) by souterraintransmissions

Crocodiles: "Hearts of Love"

[mp3]Crocodiles: "Sleep Forever"

Since its arrival yesterday, Crocodiles' new album Sleep Forever, has been a bright spot in what has been a fairly boring few days in the blog world. Admittedly, we'd been looking forward to this for awhile. Yet, aside from the new Tallest Man and Sharon Van Etten music, we've been pretty underwhelmed the past few weeks. Perhaps the promise of Sleep Forever bodes well for the next slew of stacked releases. Sleep Forever is out 9/14 on Fat Possum - again - is there anything Fat Possum puts out that we don't post on? We're such suckers.

New Crocodiles: "Sleep Forever"

[mp3] Crocodiles: "Sleep Forever"

Fat Possum is cruising for the title of label of the year, at least in the minds of the Stark staff. Feels like every freaking record we write about is from them, wtf. Anyway, a year and change ago, we got hooked on Crocodiles. Not really sure why this duo, out of such an endless sea of like-minded groups, caught our eyes and ears, but they did, and we're cool with it. They managed to even put on one of the more memorable shows at Pianos we've seen in quite some time. This dirty fuzzed out duo with a serious Jesus and Mary Chain fetish are back with a new record, Sleep Forever, coming out September 14th. We have the title track for you above. While the duo are known for their thick programmed beats and loud guitars, Sleep Forever promises a "lush" sound, courtesy of a full band. The new track certainly delivers in a strong way, still drawing from a very brit-rock background, but with a more varied and layered approach. Certainly enough to whet our appetites for what this full length has to offer.

New Crocodiles Video - "Summer of Hate"

Crocodiles - Summer of Hate from christin turner on Vimeo.

[MP3] "Neon Jesus"
[MP3] "Summer of Hate"

Crocodiles' newly released title-track video is no-fi and vertigo inducing; yet, this album still rocks-socks on our pods and makes us "want to kill" sometimes. Summer of Hate, which dropped on 4/28 via Fat Possum, is a dark horse...wait, really dark horse, candidate for top 10 or 20 lists of '09. But until that day, they are proving their break out-band-status on the indie scene --there is still a quickly beating pulse here. Keep your finger on it.
VIA - FADER

Featured Releases 4/28

Artist: Crocodiles

Album: Summer of Hate (Fat Possum)
Mp3: "Neon Jesus"
Mp3: "Summer of Hate"

This record blindsided us the week before SXSW. Then, Crocodiles went down south and blindsided the entire festival. Garnering wide-sweeping praise for their live show, on this blog and elsewhere, Crocodiles have just released their debut Summer of Hate today on Fat Possum. While the latter half of the record has lost some of it's luster over the past few weeks (a little long on noise and short on songs), there are gems on this album that make it absolutely worth the purchase -- notably the standout track "I Want to Kill." If Crocodiles can keep the momentum going they have potential to be one of the breakout bands on the indie scene in 2009.

Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Together Through Life (Columbia)
Stream the Record @ Paste Magazine

Yeah, so - the new Bob record. Ok. Heard it was bad. From a few reputable sources. Contributor Mike Bailey said it was his weakest batch of songs since the 80s. Rolling Stone liked it, but they're hero mongering baby-boomers who will never give anything Bob does until he dies less than 4 stars. In fact, they will go back and give every Dylan record they panned 5 stars retrospectively. Apparently, there is more accordion on this record than a bad night in Venice. You know what? We're cool with that. I like Southwestern stuff, like chipotle. And belt buckles. Look, it's Bob, we love Bob, we sometimes even love bad Bob. So there you have it. Thanks to Microphone Memory Emotion for pointing out a great list of Dylan covers posted at Paste. She also posted a nice mp3 of Nanci Griffith covering "Boots of Spanish Leather." Click here for it. Damn you Suze Rotolo and your stupid trip to Europe. (Kidding, we still think you're awesome.)

Crocodiles Vs. Alligators: Let The Debate Begin

[mp3]

Alligators: "Where Does It Hide?"

Listen, we don't pretend to know the difference between crocodiles and alligators. They look exactly the same, they both dwell in swamps, and they're both ornery because they got all them teeth but no toothbrush. We do, however, know the difference between Crocodiles and Alligators: The former is a No Age-approved duo drenched in fuzz who take cues from Jesus and Mary Chain and have drawn deafening buzz around here lately, and the latter is a Washington-based psychadelic pop band who call The Zombies kindred spirits. One listen to the first minute of "Where Does It Hide?" and you'll be transfixed. The melody here is so immediate that the mid-song transition to Radiohead-esque histrionics is just icing on the cake. 

The band released their debut LP Piggy & Cups late last year on startup Applehouse Records, but we wouldn't be surprised if major indies come calling soon. They've already got one power player in their corner: Piggy was recorded at Death Cab For Cutie drummer Jason McGerr's studio in Seattle. Grab the mp3 above and order the album here. 

Your move, Crocodiles.

THE Band to Watch - Crocodiles

Crocodiles - "Neon Jesus" mp3

Crocodiles - "Summer of Hate" mp3

As Lauren commented the other day - when it comes to SXSW, EVERY band is marketed as the next band to watch. But Crocodiles are the real deal. After getting the album the other day, we've been listening to it fairly constantly, to the pleasure of all in the office. Crocodiles have been a band to watch for awhile and Stereogum graced them with the BTW moniker just a few weeks ago. Crocodiles popped up on most people's radar after fellow west coast rockers No Age raved about the band's song "Neon Jesus." Another duo mining the depths of Jesus and Mary Chain style noise rock, San Diego's Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez have made the Nouns of 2009. Highly melodic, yet drenched in fuzz, electronic drums, cranked guitars and reverb, their debut Summer of Hate, will be released on April 28 by Fat Possum, (who has been having an awesome year). So this year at SX when you're inundated with bands to watch, make sure you see Crocodiles, and tell your friends that they are one of the real deal bands to watch. See the video for Neon Jesus, track list and all Crocodiles SX dates after the jump.




SXSW
18 March - FAT POSSUM SHOWCASE - Emo's Outdoor - 2:30pm
20 March - AAM PROMO - Habana Calle 6 - ((Noon-6pm))
20 March - BALLISTIC MISSLE PARTY - 7:00pm
22 March - PANACHE PARTY - Beerland - 5:05pm

Track Listing

1. Screaming Chrome
2. I Wanna Kill
3. Soft Skull (In My Room)
4. Here Comes the Sky
5. Refuse Angels
6. Flash of Light
7. Sleeping with the Lord
8. Summer of Hate
9. Young Drugs