Crocodiles - Summer of Hate

Crocodiles may hail from San Diego, but Summer of Hate is no Beach Boys theramin-heavy sunshine trip. The duo, consisting of Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez, owe much more to the dark, druggy sounds of icons such as Suicide, Spacemen 3, and the Jesus and Mary Chain. Songs like the title track, “I Wanna Kill,” and “Refuse Angels” are full of elements like spooky tremelo, brutal beats, and nasty feedback, and most importantly, they are catchy as hell. When Crocodiles slow down the tempo on the blissful “Sleeping With The Lord” and the epic closer “Young Drugs,” they are equally effective. Summer of Hate is a seriously infectious noise pop gem, one of the best debuts I’ve heard in quite some time.