Stealing liberally from the Jesus an Mary Chain and Spacemen 3,not to mention various other psych rock bands, San Diego duo Crocodiles aren't doing anything new, but they do it very well. Dressed in skinny denim and sunglasses and bathed in red light, Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez look like a lost 1986 Creation Records press photo. It's all two-chords, feedback, reverb, and excruciating volume set against a dimestore drum machine beat. And it all works pretty brilliantly because, like fellow West Coast-ers The Soft Pack, they have one element that can't be ripped-off from someone else: attitude. All that's missing is strobe lights and smoke machines. Though it would probably work just as well with a full band.
MP3: Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill
Abbey from Punk Photo shot video of "I Wanna Kill" and that's at the bottom of this post. Crocodiles' debut, Summer of Hate, is out April 28 on Fat Possum and you can preorder from Insound. RCRD LBL has their single "Neon Jesus" which isn't on the album.
In this two-man form, Crocodiles probably work best in the smallest clubs possible, but they're touring with Ladytron and The Faint in mid-sized venues for the next month or so. Wouldn't be surprised if they tried to work in late-night house parties as well. They're also playing their hometown with ex-SP3 dude Sonic Boom's current trip, Spectrum, which should prove to be an interesting night.