It seems that on their sixth album, San Diego’s Crocodiles have at long last found a focused, deliberate sound. Their previous albums have found a few hits but have seldom held your attention throughout the entire piece. 2010’s Sleep Forever found its way occasionally; the Pitchfork slating ‘Mirrors’ was and is always a pleasurable listen; Endless Flowers was a fuzzy-psych Jekyll and Hyde, at times being great and at other times being repetitive. Ultimately, Dreamless was a nervous listen, but heck, the moody, methodic sound that encompasses their latest effort is a move away from the garage-rock however it shows musicianship that has taken a lot more thought.

The two best friends that form Crocodiles, Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez have for a long time been the go-hard-or-go-home type; six albums in seven years is testament to this fact. The exploration into the pop-induced angles of psychedelia lead to the likes of ‘I’m Sick’ to be a completely new listen. It packs a rigid funk into the rhythm section whilst keeping the abrasive vocal whirl that is synonymous with the duo. The guitars are often kept in the background throughout Dreamless though, which is ironically their most dreamy album.

The first taste of LP6 that we received was in the form of ‘Telepathic Lover’ – a song that proves the pair have found their knack for lyricism too. In a mould cast not too far from the likes of Temples, it is 60s psych-pop at its finest. Synthesisers shimmer through a distant guitar, Welchez’s vocal glides into the melancholic: “Telepathic lover, please don’t look into my mind / Telepathic lover, you won’t like what you find.” The sense of hopelessness in the lyricism is something that bemoans but has the ability to strike a chord of sentimentality with the listener, something that is exceptionally refreshing in its own right.

The duo have often taken inspiration from their occasional third member and close-friend, Martin Thulin. Thulin carries production rights on Dreamless and with his focus on keys as opposed to guitars, he helps the group find much of the album’s strength. ‘Welcome To Hell’ carries a boisterous guitar line whilst ‘Go Now’ slows the tempo down somewhat as the duo find themselves within the murk of dream-pop, something akin to DIIV et al. The beauty of ‘Go Now’ once again finds quality within splices of sadness. The wrath of heartbreak and the ending of relationships plagued parts of the recording process therefore it is of no surprise that the topic finds home within the darkened corners of LP6.

‘Alita’ cuts through the centre of the album. It’s an obscure sound that finds the group tampering with carnivalesque atmospherics – ringing guitars and tremolo brings about a distant sense of The Doors. It’s the most left field track on the album and takes repeated listens to find it fully engaging and understand what it tries to do as a song; the gratifications are apparent though when you find your way through. ‘Jumping On Angels’ is similar, it wreaks of groove, flitting between doom and funk with apparent ease, while ‘Time To Kill’ carries a menacing song title but when you listen closely, the soundscapes that soar in the background are inventive and compelling to listen to.

‘Jailbird’ is far from the best track on the album but documents the part where the duo fall in love with their guitars again. Unfortunately though it feels slightly misguided as a track, it leaps around but misses the purpose and accuracy that other songs touched upon. Arguably the best song of Dreamless is left until last though, ‘Not Even In Your Dreams’ is a Primal Scream nod, it’s beautifully melodic and if slowed down slightly would find itself as a true ballad.

Crocodiles have proven here that given the chance, they can eventually find the sound they always needed. It further proves that, along with the likes of Growlers, when garage-fuzz-rock groups turn their gaze upon other instruments and sounds with a sharper focus on melody, they can really find their nuance. Stripping back the dirge of fuzz may well be the best move Crocodiles have made in a while.
Tom Churchill

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