Blending shoegaze textures, slowcore melancholy and a healthy dose of post-punk grit, Captain Crocodile are carving out a sound that’s as immersive as it is emotionally raw. The Liverpool-based duo — Jack Norrie and Raye Osterloh — wrap their music in a haze of mellow nostalgia and shadowy visuals, crafting songs that explore themes of isolation, self-destruction and the strange beauty in monotony. Ahead of their headline slot at the Penny Lane Weekender Opening Party, we caught up with them to talk songwriting, aesthetics and where to start if you’re just stepping into their world.
For anyone new to your music, what should they expect from the Captain Crocodile sound? And which track would you suggest they listen to first?
Captain Crocodile: I’d say our music is a little oblique and off-kilter, it’s a mishmash of shoegaze, slowcore & post-punk; all encased a mellow nostalgia. I’d say for new listeners, you can’t go wrong with Tried To Say, although my personal favourite is I’ll Never See U Again.
Your visuals feel like an extension of your music—how do you go about creating that world? Do the images inspire the music, or does the music come first?
Captain Crocodile: It kind of forms together at the same time. When I’m writing the songs, they kind of stew in my brain for a while, I build the parts in my head like a little internal recording studio and while it sits, the visual ideas and aesthetics form too. Raye then refines the ideas both sonically and visually, and a demo is made. It then just keeps developing from there.
How do you approach writing —do lyrics come easily, or is it more of a slow, reflective process for you?
Captain Crocodile: It really depends on the song as well as our moods at the time, songs like Adore U & When I’m Gone took weeks of moulding and polishing to get the right sounds and words we wanted. In contrast to that, Me and Raye fully wrote, recorded & produced I Can’t in just an evening, likewise with Your Slithery Fum.
Your latest track Cold Embrace feels like a continuation of your immersive style. What inspired this one, and does it connect thematically to your previous releases?
Captain Crocodile: Cold Embrace is about isolation, when people that are close to you suddenly aren’t so close anymore, and as time passes that space only gets larger. I feel like it definitely links with some common themes which are present throughout our music such as isolation, self-destruction & monotony. The worlds a hard place right now and I think our music is a reflection of that.
You’re headlining the Opening Party on the Friday of the Penny Lane Weekender—how does it feel to be part of the lineup, and what does this festival mean to you?
Captain Crocodile: We are super excited to be playing alongside such class acts on such a lovely day, celebrating some of the best of Liverpools thriving music scene. We can’t wait to come down and play an absolute belter of a set for everyone!
Penny Lane Weekender 2025
8 – 10 August
Tickets
