Regular Song of the Day fans’ll know that we have a big soft spot for good psychedelia. One of the latest tunes to tickle our psych-rock fancy comes from San Diego’s Crocodiles.
The two fellas behind Crocodiles are Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell. The pair have been playing together in some form or another since their teen years back home in sunny San Diego. They donned the name Crocodiles back in 2008, and released the buzzworthy single “Neon Jesus.” They released their first full-length Summer of Hate the following year. They added some more personnel to the band following their 2010 sophomore record Sleep Forever. Welchez and Rowell decamped to Berlin to record their 2012 album Endless Flowers.
They kept on the international theme, and these days, the two SoCal kids split their time between New York and London. They also enlisted Sune Rose Wagner, one-half of the Danish duo The Raveonettes, to helm the production chair on their newest record Crimes of Passion (out on August 20 via Frenchkiss Records). It’s a natural match. Crocodiles draw upon the same lo-fi, wall-of-feedback approach as The Raveonettes. It’s a sound that owes as much to the 80s post-punk as 60s psych. Although there’s plenty of flower power to be had on Crimes of Passion‘s first single “Cockroach.” The name might be creepy-crawly, but the song drips sticky sweet with noisy, fizzy pop. The vocals slither and slink as the band vamps on the pumping verses. They hit all the psych-rock high-notes, and we hope it tickles your fancy like it did ours.
