Crocodile

Crocodile’s new album is excellent, and they let me play guitar in a song!

“The Tale of Otter, Thorn Eater, and the Colored Coyotes of Hidden City” is a concept album of western prog/jam full of thematic development and compelling grooves. I have been really digging the interplay of Ted Thomas and Greg Seale’s rhythm section on this one, which are balanced and propulsive in a deep-sounding mix. Philip Spawn’s addition as keyboardist has elevated the textural vocabulary. The whole affair is fairly reminiscent of early Steely Dan and mid 70s Pink Floyd to my ears, in all the best ways. Kevin Sim’s guitar leads have a snappy twang as they weave deceptively relaxed melodic lines, with several head-turning moments. I was a bit concerned my noodles at the end of track 7 would sound aimless after his 6.5 tracks of his sophisticated fireworks. But they edited my solos to sound better than I remembered, and I’m so grateful and proud to be involved! This is a band worth checking out live as well, but definitely get this album on CD, streaming or as a bandcamp download in order to dig into all the lovely details.