Employing the adroitness of super producer James Ford (one half of Simian Mobile Disco) on their latest single seems to have transformed Crocodiles fortunes somewhat – their sounds sumptuous zealous dreamy production boasts a new fangled sheen. As the organs swell it’s cerebral layers intoxicate like mustard gas seeping through you air conditioning vents. ‘Sleep Forever’ is a distant fuzz-pop brain freeze, constant in its stream of jagged shoegaze. And with Brandon Welchez’s vocals hovering about the multitude of layers it goes someway to regaining some order to Crocodiles classroom even if he does sound a little like The Charlatans headmaster Tim Burgess along the way. Ultimately ‘Sleep Forever’ cascades beautifully into our lives and provides a timely reminder that this is a welcome return since their Christmas released 7-inch with Dum Dum Girls.

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Following their energetic debut single, ‘Straight Back On It’, Young Fathers are back with their latest track, ‘Automatic’. It’s a fluid fusion of eccentric electro beats blended into a hip-hop foundation that does the Scottish trio’s growing reputation justice. Their recent tour with Simian Mobile Disco resulted in the co-produced ‘Turn Up The Dial’ which found itself on SMD’s 2009 album, ‘Temporary Pleasure’. This, coupled with the fact that the lads have already appeared with Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape, Dizzee Rascal, The Noisettes, La Roux, and Grandmaster Flash, highlights their ever-increasing popularity. This AA single includes the heavier B-side, ‘Dancing Mantaray’, which, produced by dubstep’s Ginz, is slowed-down, chilled-out and synthed-up in relation to the A-side, and as a result loses the gripping nature that makes you want to listen to ‘Automatic’ again and again. ‘Dancing Mantaray’ is nonetheless well worth a listen. With shades of De La Soul, Outkast and even Spank Rock, ‘Automatic’ is a feast of power pop, its main weakness being its abrupt ending at a slightly disappointing two and half minutes long.

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The first wave of Shockwaves NME Awards Shows for next year has been announced.

The annual month of gigs, which takes place every February in the run up to the awards ceremony itself – to be held this year on February 24 at the O2 Academy Brixton – will yet again take over London, and NME.COM can reveal the first names confirmed to play.

This year’s shows will include the likes of Simian Mobile Disco, Hadouken! and Yeasayer, with more dates, acts and support acts set to be announced soon.

The first shows to be announced are:

Miike Snow London Scala (February 2)
Hadouken! London Scala (3)
Simian Mobile Disco matter (20)
New Young Pony Club Islington Academy (22)
Yeasayer London Heaven (23)
Girls London Scala (23)

Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning (November 27) from 9am (GMT), exclusively through NME.COM.

To check the availability of Shockwaves NME Awards Show tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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Everyone knows Simian Mobile Disco – whether it’s for anthems such as ‘The Hustler’ or ‘It’s The Beat’, or whether it’s for their dynamic and explosive DJ sets. But here, Ford and Shaw present their lesser-known softer sides to us all with a disco twinged, 90s sounding track. It’s a continuation of the mellower direction that they are heading in, following on from songs such as ‘Synthesize’. Muffled, fuzzy kick drums and echo-y synth stabs underpin Beth Ditto’s surprisingly non-irritating vocals. It sounds like SMD have managed to tame her, making her vocals less like Beth Ditto and more like a soulful singer (you can decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing). Simian Mobile Disco have avoided making an obvious, generic dance track here; instead, they have made an electronic ‘song’. Yet whilst it’s a good song – a classic it certainly is not. And the problem is, songs like this need to be classics to get noticed by the fans. Otherwise the chances are they’ll go largely un-noticed…

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