The March Violets
Crocodile Promises
Metropolis Records
Crocodile Promises is a record arriving with no small amount of history and baggage. Not only tasked with maintaining the warm reception original Leeds legends The March Violets received in 2013 with Made Glorious, their first formally presented new material in nearly 30 years (though by happenstance their first LP), it also faces the difficult proposition of being the band’s first work to not feature the signature voice of Simon Denbigh, who has stepped back from the band since suffering a stroke in 2016 (though it should be noted that Denbigh contributed lyrics to Crocodile Promises). Whether through conscious intent or organic process, the resulting LP is a decidedly understated on, eschewing both the bombast of the band’s early incarnation and the filigreed, vaudeville excess of Made Glorious for an even, slow burn of mature, autumnal goth rock.
In many cases, that savvy approach reflects the Violets’ tenure and its ins and outs pays off, as on the less-is-more, up and down riffing and sing-song style of “Mortality”. Elsewhere it leaves the band lacking, as on “World Away From Kind” which never rises above the station of its mid-tempo plod. But those misfires are the exception rather than the rule, and while they’re playing it cool for much of the record, it has its frantic moments as well. The dead simple drum programming and skittering post-punk guitar on “Virgin Sheep” is right in the same pocket as any number of classic Violets singles.
It’s a record, then, where the subtleties of production and songwriting are often the difference markers. The chimes which ornament nodding pre-release single “Hammer The Last Nail” are reflected in Rosie Garland’s task on that track and the rest of the album in handling all vocal duties, that of carrying the punky directness that still lies at the foundation of the March Violets’ sound, yet lending the proceedings just enough otherworldly gothic mystique. Sometimes that balancing act is accomplished lyrically, as on the linking of family trauma and gaslighting to mythic imagery on “Kraken Wakes”.
Despite the nostalgic kick the prospect of a new March Violets record still carries for goth greybeards, the band are doing a solid job of putting out material which speaks to their here and now, with enough organic connection to their roots to still feel like the same band despite line-up adjustments. And hey, speaking of line-up adjustments, getting none other than William Faith to pinch hit on some songwriting is as good a way as any to link the past to the present. Whether this incarnation holds or morphs into yet another era, Crocodile Promises brings more than retro kicks for their own sake.
