The 7" Club: The Crocodiles - Black Tar

Welcome to a new Friday feature I'm calling the 7" Club, where I discuss a 7" record that I love. Some might be hard to find (which is half the fun of owning vinyl anyway). All will be full of great music.

For the first week I've chosen The Crocodiles great 7", Black Tar.

Black Tar is The Crocodiles lone release. It's was a side project of Randy Rose (Mad at The World, Rose, Mothership). Black Tar was released by Velvet Blue Music and according to their website, you can still pick it up from them. ($3.50 for two songs. Well worth it!)

The Crocodiles were a pure rockabilly. Side A song, Grease, is a hard hitting rockabilly track. Side B, In Your Arms, has more of a swing/country feel. Both songs are great and fans of classic rockabilly will love this 7".

You can pick this gem up at http://velvetbluemusic.com/v3/releases.php?page=11

The Meltdown 2.26

New music from Copperlily, John Mark McMillan, Saving Grace, Ambassadors of Shalom, and more.

The Meltdown 2.25

New music from With Increase, For Today, Number One Gun, and Andy Mineo.

Andy Mineo - Never Land

I loved Heroes For Sale. It made me go pick up Mineo's Formerly Known mixtape. I was a fan.

Never Land is a bit of a mixed bag for me.

The title track opens the record and it's my favorite song on the ep. Never Land isn't a hype song, so it's a refreshing change from Heroes For Sale. It's an introspective track, with a strong hook from Marz. But on the flip side, Paisano's Wylin' does nothing for me. It's slightly annoying and doesn't feel like there's much substance to the track. You Can't Stop Me is a hype track and I enjoy it. At times it feels like Mineo has thrown in a  couple "huhs" to copy what Kanye's doing, but it doesn't really bug. It just sounds a little weird. The beat isn't my favorite that Mineo's ever used but the song is enjoyable. Rewind is a great song about going for your dreams and sticking with them, even when the going gets tough.

Never Land isn't my favorite release but Mineo, but it shows the dudes work ethic. Plus, it's a nice treat for the fans who just couldn't get enough after Heroes For Sale.

Copperlily - Love Is A Legend

Country/folk music is in right now. And everyone's side project leans that way. So naturally Tim Skipper's (House of Heroes) side project with his wife would be a country/folk album.

Not that I'm complaining... The debut ep from Copperlily is a beautiful reflection of the newlyweds love for each other and is great look at the stages of a relationship.

Map To Your Heart is a great song about the chase and pursuing the one you love. Color In You is about falling in love. Broken World sounds a little more Norah Jones than it does country (which I love) and it works. The song is about moving past previous hurts and wounds to let new love in. A Lot To Learn is about that... No matter the best intentions, there's always something new to learn about the person you're in love with. Tell Me is just a great great love song! The title track closes the ep, and Love Is A Legend is about how love is the ultimate legacy.

It's a bit sappy, but it works. Love Is A Legend is a great ep, full of honest and what feel like very personal love songs. I hope there's more to come from Copperlily.

Still Remains - Ceasing To Breathe

I wasn't super sad when Still Remains broke up. As much as I loved Of Love and Lunacy, The Serpent just didn't do anything for me. And if that was the direction the band was headed, than I could accept them breaking up.

But when the band announced their return, and that the line-up was the same as it was on Of Love and Lunacy, I was on board.

Ceasing To Breathe doesn't sound like Of Love and Lunacy. But it also doesn't sound like the Serpent. Ceasing To Breathe might be Still Remains heaviest work to date. But it still has the classic metalcore elements that the band was known for.

The riff that opens up the record on Bare Your Teeth is excellent and TJ Miller's vocals are vicious, showing off more range than he's ever had! Crone comes busting in as soon as Bare Your Teeth keeping the intensity up. The hook is more 'pop" than Bare Your Teeth's, but it's in the same vein that the hooks on Of Love and Lunacy were pop. Commercial friendly if you will. Beacon is more of a ballady metalcore song with a great melodic guitar riff driving the hook. Close To The Grave has a thrashy/punkness that's great.

From the album's opener to Bitter Shroud Repentance's closing note, Ceasing To Breathe is a heavy hitting record. No downers, no slow moments, no breaks. Still Remains has come back from the dead and are heavier than they've ever been. Ceasing to Breathe is a vicious record. Well worth the wait.

Kye Kye - Fantasize

I loved Kye Kye's Young Love. It was a brilliantly simple and understated, hitting on all the right notes.  The honesty and reflective nature of the lyrics helped carry the music, that at times was little more than a lone synth and drum machine creating an easy background for Olga's whispering vocals.

The first single from Fantasize was Honest Affection. And honestly... It didn't work for me the first time through. It took several listens of the track before I fell head over heels in love with the track. Which made me wonder how I'd feel about Fantasize as a whole. Was it going to take me weeks to enjoy the record? Would it be more of an instantaneous hit now that I've come around to what I might be hearing more of?

On my first listen through Fantasize, I thought Kye Kye did a great job. It was a fun, 80's inspired record with some killer tracks. But the more I've listened to it, the less impressed I've been. Don't get me wrong, the record is enjoyable and fun. And the 80's inspired dance tracks are great.

But the charm from Young Love is missing. There are moments that feel similar (Glass, Scared of Selfish, Dreams 2AM) but the lack a sense of innocence and vulnerability that made Young Love so appealing.

Honest Affection is the standout track on the record, in my opinion. Lush enough to create a beautiful layer underneath Olga's vocals. The's synth is driving the track but it's not pushing the song into a hole it doesn't fit.

People, Seasons, and Her, like Honest Affection, are these upbeat songs that carry a stronger 80's vibe. Softly isn't upbeat, but the guitar riff has 1980's something written all over it.

Fantasize is beautiful and well crafted. Kye Kye has gotten better as a band. And I know it's unfair to try and hold their new work to the previous work. But it's hard not to...

Fantasize is great... I just didn't click with it the same way I did Young Love.