5.0 out of 5 stars
35 Tracks On A 2 CD Set - From Goth to Electro '88-'04, April 11 2008
By danseassembly "DanseAssemblyMediaNetwork" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Sea (Audio CD)
As the following 35 tracks amply illustrate,... Croc Shop has been an underground treasure for 17 years now (under many different guises, but driven primarily by Hale and his key co-conspirator v. Markus). Croc Shop have willfully carved out their own unyielding path through a twisted musical thicket that has seen them consume, conquer, and often reinvent elements of shoegazer rock, gothic ambient drone, crushing industrial noise, pulsating techno, pounding drum and bass, good ol'-fashioned disco sex groove music, and myriad other sounds, to arrive at something that is not only unique sonically (Hale's songs remain wonderfully melodic, soulful, and dare I say human - though I'm certain that's an adjective he'd disavow) and lyrically (far left of Ralph Nader, our hero's political views are needed now more than ever in these fascist times - and by the way, he'd like you to not eat meat), but ethically. That is to say that in these ever-more bought, sold, compromised, and commodified times, Croc Shop remains the rare group dedicated to its art, and careerism be damned. CS.Sea is a testament to just how potent that art has been, and hopefully will continue to be.
- Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, The Chicago Sun-Times