Limited Fun Records – 19 Mar 2025
Undercooked.
Even if You’re Happy is UK shoegaze trio Crocodile Tears’ third release, and their first on the Limited Fun Record Label. With Even if You’re Happy, Crocodile Tears shows promise, but leaves a lot to be desired. After 3 years of releasing music, the band definitely has the shoegaze style down and the vocal performances are solid, but there are some issues that – I feel – really hold this one back.
While the vocals are good, something about the mix almost makes them feel distant from the rest of the track. It’s hard to put into words, but the vocals, compared to the rest of the band, feel like they’re from a different record entirely. I enjoy the mix of each, but there’s a sonic gap that really took away from my listening experience.
Crocodile Tears uses their full instrumentation pretty well. The band clearly isn’t afraid to use spacier textures. Every song has at least one section with subdued (or completely absent) guitar or drums, and when the full band comes back it, it hits. I wish their instrumental breaks were more than just “main riff without vocals on top of it”. They can write good riffs and chord progressions, and almost every instrumental feels like a missed opportunity.
“Tape” opens with a crunchy harmony that, to be frank, does not pass the ear test for me, and lead to me pressing the A and A# keys on a piano at the same time while making all sorts of faces. It’s a shame, because “Tape” is my favorite track of the EP by far, and with just a quick rework of chord voicings, I’d call it a great song. The title track was good, but there were moments where the drums and guitar were not entirely together – and that gets very distracting.
The EP is a free download, with an option to buy on cassette, both by itself
Limited Fun Bandcamp (cassette, digital DL)
Crocodile Tears Bandcamp (previous music)
Spotify (previous music)
