Crocodylus
From high-octane house gigs on their home of Sydney’s Northern Beaches to touring Europe with The Chats, and selling out headline shows all around Australia, the last few years have been non-stop for garage rockers Crocodylus. And in spite of common sense and common decency, the three piece are only just getting warmed up.
Crocodylus’ DIY ethos has garnered them fervent fans around the globe, as well making the trio a go-to for support tours and boutique festivals in their home country. They’ve toured regional Australia with Skegss, nationally with The Chats, tri-headlining with A. Swayze & The Ghosts and Voiid, as well as popping up for hometown shows supporting the likes of Ocean Alley, Dune Rats, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Hockey Dad, The Jungle Giants and more. Throw in some festival appearances across the country at Panama, NYE on The Hill, Bad Friday, Yours & Owls and Sounds of the Suburbs and a couple of sold out headline dates along the East Coast for good measure, and it’s no surprise these three highschool friends have managed to carve out a name for themselves.
The last few years have been punctuated by a string of successful, fan-favourite releases, including 2018’s 7 inch ‘My Love / My Baby’. The A-side energised audiences with sold out performances at The Lansdowne in Sydney and The Tote in Melbourne, and the latter exceeding all B-side expectations, becoming Crocodylus’ most widely-known song alongside a gorgeous music video which was heralded by music website Life Without Andy as the #1 Indie Music Video of that year.
2019 saw the release of Crocodylus’ 3rd EP, ‘Enjoy’, which featured engineering and production from Owen Penglis (Royal Headache, Miss Destiny, The Grates) and mixing from Wade Keigran (Polish Club, The Hard-Ons, Wolf & Cub). As well as being their most ambitious release to date, ‘Enjoy’ marked a huge step up in sound for the band, with a smorgasbord of sounds ranging from garage, psych, 60’s rock and contemporary surf, delivered with a blast of buzzsaw guitars, blistering vocals and thunderous drum lines.
Now it’s a new decade, and in spite of a strong start to the year including sold out performances in Melbourne, Adelaide and their hometown of the Northern Beaches (where they sold out a 550-capacity venue), well… we know how the story of this year goes. No matter. The boys have used the downtime to work on their forthcoming debut album, slated for release in 2021, as well as putting the finishing touches on their new single ‘Social Climber’. Produced and engineered once again by Owen Penglis, and mixed by Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels, Hard-Ons, The Whitlams), ‘Social Climber’ shows Crocodylus at their most dynamic, thriving within the light and the shade, the whisper-quiet bits and the parts so loud they’ll rattle your windows. It’s also Crocodylus’ most emotional song to date, with singer Josh Williams refrain of ‘I tried so hard’ a particular point of emotional resonance, right before an immense, cathartic instrumental breakdown.
It’s been a hell of a journey for the Crocs since forming as a high school band in 2015, and yet with every new year comes another opportunity to double-down on previous efforts, to further develop their sound, and to deliver the best music and best performances to their loyal fans that they possibly can. If you’re not on board yet, it’s never too late. We’ve saved you a seat.