Crocodiles

Crocodiles share a lot with Wavves, including a sound (washed-out fuzzy stoner pop) and a label (Fat Possum, which released Crocodiles’ sophomore Sleep Forever in 2010). But Wavves’ tracks boast a trebly immediacy, while Crocodiles slather theirs with reverb, echo, and ceaseless repetition, creating an atmospheric brew that falls somewhere between Crystal Stilts and the garage-inflected sounds of Crocodiles’ own Los Angeles brethren. Produced by Simian Mobile Disco’s James Ford, Sleep Forever taps the same vein as the band’s debut, but also sees the newly expanded five-piece moving toward a fuller, shinier sound. With the lineup in place, Crocodiles headed to Berlin to record its most recent album, Endless Flowers—allowing the group to broaden its inspirations, if not its horizons.

Updated 06/13/2012