Crocodile

Oklahoma City's synthcore trio, Crocodile, is the winner of this week's Sonicbids Spotlight. Their debut album, The Great Depression, which was self-released this past February, ranked in the Top 100 eMusic Alternative charts for several weeks and earned critic comments such as "they make me happy," despite the title's dismal implications. Though the band lacks a bassist, married couple Derek and Rachael Brown make do with their synths, guitars and percussionist, Dusty Nelson, who happens to be Brown's cousin. Crocodile has performed alongside the likes of Mates Of State, Snowden and the Virgins.

Jun 20, 2008
Story by: Michelisa Lanche


- CMJ

Dear Mr./Ms. band named Crocodile:

You don’t know me, and I don’t know you - I am not a stalker, but I am really a fan of your music. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and it was the beginning of the 90’s and I listened to the Vaselines (who are going to play their first-ever US show this year) and Spin Magazine actually mattered because it was subversive and daring in its taste, and I liked Stereolab and early Ween, and I liked getting high and I played around with my Korg Analogue sequencer and we had BBQ’s and sometimes I would stay up all night thinking about things like who I would wanted to hook up with, what God might be and where all of this was going.

I had two massive wooden speakers with huge 20″ cones on either side of my bed and I would fall asleep to Ministry, The Dark Side of the Moon or Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock and sometimes I would listen to mix-tapes someone at the rival high-school made for me and left in my locker anonymously and the sound of the hiss shutting off meant I could finally turn off my mind and go to sleep.

Thank you for your new record “The Great Depression” - it was really fun to listen to, and for a second I felt like it was then again, and I could go play with the willow tree at my grandparent’s yard and your CD sounds more crystal clear than those mix-tapes sounded and the music is good. I know you are “just” an indie, but I hope that lots of people get to hear your music, because you rock in a really good way.

musiczeitgeist.com
May 17, 2008 - Music Zeitgeist

By Tony Waggoner

Where did Oklahoma City band, Crocodile, get their name? If I guessed, and I may be wrong and probably am, I would say it could have come from Echo & the Bunneymen’s debut album, “Crocodiles.” Why? Because, even though Crocodile is bouncy, boy-girl indie pop, there are sneaky little elements of early ‘80s new wave in the band’s sound, as with the song “Pageant” from the bands recently released “The Great Depression” EP. The three piece features husband and wife duo of Raechel and Derek Brown on guitars, keyboards and vocals and drummer, Dusty Wayne Nelson.

The band seems split between its ideals. Raechel Brown’s vocals are obviously the light side of the band on songs like “Something To Be Proud Of” and “August Is Over,” almost like Toni Basil or Cyndi Lauper singing some of the Cure’s more danceable songs, i.e. “Friday I’m In Love.” When her husband takes over on the aforementioned “Pageant” and “We Speak For Everyone,” the songs are more desperate and “Disintegration,” with darker tones abound.
The influences are clear with this band. They obviously have spent time with albums by Joy Division, New Order, Blondie, Concrete Blonde and maybe even O.M.D. Crocodile is also not afraid to ape the sound of the latter day Flaming Lips, if only minutely. The point being, Crocodile are one of the bands helping to land Oklahoma City’s current indie music scene on the map. The band has been playing all across Oklahoma this past year. This coming Thursday, June 5, they will open up for Sub Pop band, Helio Sequence, at Opolis in Norman, and they will play again in Oklahoma City the following Tuesday, June 10, with Lawrence, Kan., band, Mates of State.
Mates of State have been busy in their 11 year existence. The group comprised of husband and wife duo, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, has released five full-length albums, four EP’s and one DVD since forming in 1997, amidst Lawrence’s burgeoning music scene. - City Sentinel

I might write about metal a lot, but I still have a sweet tooth for bouncy, sappy indie pop with boy-girl harmonies. Crocodile is from Oklahoma City, OK, and they look like real nice people. The group features Dusty Nelson on drums and husband-wife vocal/guitar/keyboard duo Raechel and Derek Brown up front. What makes them awesome?
# They use custom-made guitar effects and analog synths.
Their songs are unnervingly bouncy and fun. There’s even one called “Dinosaur.”
I’ve always been fond of the world “crocodile.” Not only is it associated with another sort of badass reptile, but it also makes me think of Chocodiles, which was my favorite Hostess snack cake (Twinkies covered in chocolate!).
They make me happy.

If you like being happy, you should probably check them out. Or just be miserable. See if I care. Crocodile plan to release an EP, The Great Depression, in late January…so that means any day now. Rock! - Synthesis

Crocodile may be Oklahoma’s husband and wife equivalent of Mates of State. Derek & Raechel Brown combine their pop sensibilities to front this energetic synth-pop-rock band. The band got the capacity crowd’s heads moving and hips shaking. - Oklahoma Rock

Vol. 3, Issue #13 July 18th - July 24th, 2008
Crocodile Rock
By: Becky Carman

Crocodile suffers a strange dichotomy. At once the new kids on the block and the well-seasoned pros, the band members – Raechel Brown (synths, guitars, vocals and Theremin), Derek Brown (synths, guitars and vocals) and Dusty Wayne Nelson (drums) – are culling their collective experience…and keeping it all in the family.

“We finally got our act together and started playing in the fall of 2006,” Raechel said. “Derek and I are married. Derek and D.W. are cousins, and we had been talking about putting something together for a while, but the timing wasn’t right until then.”

Crocodile was in its infancy during Dfest 2007 and is bringing its brand of indie pop rock this time around, but with a little more experience.

“When we played Dfest last year, we had played less than ten shows probably, so naturally our live show has evolved since then,” Brown said. “We were – and are constantly – realizing our strengths and weaknesses and trying to learn what we can do to make our live show better.” Since last summer, Crocodile has played a number of well-attended shows, including a date at the Bricktown Ballroom with another husband-wife duo, Mates of State.

At this year’s festival, Brown said she looks forward to seeing headliners Ghostland Observatory, Apples In Stereo and The Roots, “or anyone else that can offer lasers, synths or afros – not necessarily in that order of importance.”

To be certain, synthesizers do rank higher in import than any flashy peripherals – a truth evident on Crocodile’s debut EP, The Great Depression, self-released earlier this year.

“We have huge crushes on synth-based music,” Brown said, “and decided early on we wanted to make synths the focus of the instrumentation.”

Crocodile’s greater focus, as honed from its members’ years of playing in now-defunct projects, is pretty clear.

“I would say the main difference as compared to then is now we’re not as worried about going out and playing as many shows in as many different cities as humanly possible,” Brown said. “We’re trying to look more at the big picture and focus on recording just as much as playing live. Touring is important, and we want to do more of that than we’re doing now, – hello, $4.00 a gallon gas! – but we’re also really concerned about recording a full-length record that we can be proud of and using that to try and make something out of all this.”

Crocodile will play Dfest at 10:00 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at The Continental (21+) - NonZine

Crocodile’s cute factor is off the chains.

They’re a family affair – a married couple, Raechel and Derek Brown, with Derek’s cousin D.W. Nelson hitting the sticks; they write incredibly infectious pop songs like “Dinosaur”; and it seems they are equally cute characters, too, according to our interview.

But as I (Natalie Wright) sat down the trio at the Prohibition Room in Oklahoma City to have a round of absinthe and talk shop with the band, I discovered they are inherently dynamic in nature, both musically and as individuals.

SHOW INFO:
• Where: The Conservatory in Oklahoma City
• Opener: Wighead
• Time / Cost: 8pm / $6

Crocodile joins the fight against cancer tonight at “An Evening With Jack”. The non-profit event (hosted by Sophie Zine) will also include a Guitar Hero contest and prizes, with all proceeds benefiting The Dear Jack Foundation, a cancer research charity headed up by Jack’s Mannequin / Something Corporate front man and leukemia survivor Andrew McMahon.

Around 2006, the trio tinkered with the idea of starting a band. Each band member was involved with a number of projects previously. Notably, Derek played with Starlight Mints, Chainsaw Kittens, Liz Phair and Steve Burns of Blues Clues. Raechel was just off tour with her former band, The Stellas. And at that time, D.W. was working on building his own studio. He and Derek had been playing music together for nearly 10 years.

“We kind of created a pact,” Nelson explained. “We all kind of hung out and decided to make music all together. It would only work as a trio.”

Without even performing their songs live, they went to the studio to lay down an EP that became The Great Depression.

Crocodile’s first EP, The Great Depression, was released in early 2008. You can pick it up at eMusic, Amazon, iTunes or your local independent record store.

“It was really hard to record, get our act together and decide how to play these songs. D.W. came up with the title because he was just so depressed trying to get all this recording shit done. He said ‘we should just call it that,” Derek says.

Nelson’s studio also earned the name The Great Depression at that time.

“The name really described how we were feeling,” Nelson chimes in. “It really was a growing process. We had to go through a Great Depression to get to a Renaissance, you know?”

“There’s a darkness to us, but also a dancy-ness,” Raechel adds. “Most of our influences are pretty dark. There’s a duality to it, which I love about some of my favorite bands as well. Like a lot of Blondie songs, like ‘Hangin’ On the Telephone.’ I think there are a lot of songs that are so poppy, but I think really they’ve got this depressing, weird quality to them. With a lot of songs on The Great Depression, that quality is there.”

It’s also a quality that rings true for the indie pop act, Mates of State, which Crocodile is often compared to and with whom they have also performed.

“We keep getting the Mates of State comparison. At this radio thing I did, we got that question, and I had never really listened to Mates of State,” Raechel says.

“Didn’t they start out as duo?” Derek adds. “So, everyone they play with are pretty much hired musicians? That’s probably our main difference. We’re in it together.”

Clearly, their family ties hold them tight. I ask if it ever causes conflict.

“It’s definitely getting easier,” Derek explains. “It’s not like we’re brother and sister. With your brother or sister, you could just punch them in the face, but this is like a normal relationship with boundaries.”

With that in mind, the band has continued forward successfully. They are working on a new album that will hopefully be equally weird and charming pop.

“It’s not like we’re making commercial hits, we’re trying to make art,” Derek concludes.

http://www.oklahomarock.com/blog/?p=1401#more-1401 - OklahomaRock.com

Crocodile are from Oklahoma and sound nothing like the Flaming Lips. Just to be clear. What they do sound like is chirpy, female-fronted guitar pop with just the right dollop of synth in the mix. No angle on this one - just catchy, straight-ahead good tunes. Not to be confused with Crocodiles, who will also be in Austin this week, albeit in an unofficial (no SxSW showcase) capacity. Crocodile (singular) are on at 8 tonight on the rooftop of Wave.

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
- chromewaves.net