Crocodiles January 15, 2011

"Welcome to the art-punk renaissance," declared Rolling Stone magazine last year, triumphantly heralding Crocodiles' debut album. It was all deserved for a San Diego duo who'd spent years kicking against the mundanity of their sprawling military town. Sharing both singer Brandon Welchez's love for girl groups and punk, and his feeling of small-town alienation, was guitarist Charles Rowell. Meeting at an anti-fascist rally when they were teenagers, the two have been in countless bands together since.

Last year the pair released their acclaimed debut album as Crocodiles. Alongside Rolling Stone's support, "Summer of Hate" also garnered them endless blog buzz and tours across the US and Europe supporting bands like Holy Fuck and the Horrors. Straddling vast sonic terrains from the jagged guitar stabs of street-strutting lead single "Neon Jesus," to throbbing kraut rock, expansive shoegaze and irresistibly danceable disco-punk jams, "Summer of Hate" drew comparisons with the Velvets and Primal Scream.

Significantly, it also caught the ear of one James Ford - Simian Mobile Disco man and producer of Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons and Florence and the Machine amongst others. Together, all three headed into the desert in early 2010 to create "Summer of Hate's" psychedelic, hypnotic and anthemic follow-up. An album that would be christened, somewhat fittingly: "Sleep Forever."

Official Website: http://www.slims-sf.com/slims-bin/showcal?date=2011-01-15