Single Review : Crocodiles - Mirrors

In terms of “what’s hot” these days, it’s more a case of “what’s retro”. The shoegaze revival rumbles on with no signs of abating. Grunge rears its bedraggled head again in the form of Yuck and Dinosaur Pile-Up. Britpop gets a Lazarus style resurrection by Slough foursome Brother and hell, even the misguided neckerchief enthusiasts themselves are partying like it’s 1974 under the banner of Beady Eye. It seems that right now, we’re all looking back, not forward.

It sounds like the past is in and doesn’t the industry know it. They're milking this cash cow until everyone becomes lactose intolerant and make no mistake. But until that point, bands such as Crocodiles get to peddle their own brand of reverb soaked guitar pop as if they were The Jesus and Mary Chain or something.

New single ‘Mirrors’ is the opening track from their 2010 ‘Sleep Forever’ debut and it’s a swishy three and a half minutes of dreamy nostalgia, full of drones, spacey vocals and a propulsive drum beat. Part rock and roll and part emotional pop, this single sounds like a mix between Secret Machines and any number of shoegaze bands you’d want to cite.

Sure, there’s no originality here but the out and out fact is that this is a really great single. It’s just a shame that Crocodiles (the band, not the man eating reptiles) have to swim – and drown – in a pool of on-trend soundalikes, because it does them a disservice. When this reverb saturated guitar revival finally crashes down around our ears, chances are Crocodiles will come crashing down with it, which is a shame as they are actually really quite good.

Third single ‘Mirrors’ was released last week through Fat Possum Records and is on sale now.

Crocodiles - Mirrors by Music Liberation

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