Seattle – Crocodiles should not be confused with the 1970’s New Zealand pop stars “The” Crocodiles. No one in The Crocodiles is married to Dum Dum Girls’ front-woman Dee Dee Penny; The Crocodiles didn’t have an album produced by Sune Rose Wagner of The Ravonettes; Cat Power has not appeared in any of The Crocodiles recorded work; most importantly, The Crocodiles are not a bunch of Southern California punks who have been making impressively melodic noise-pop records since 2008. These facts belong, instead, to the modern band Crocodiles.

Crocodiles is the collaborative brainchild of Brandon Welchez (who is, in fact, married to Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny) and Charles Rowell. The initial duo has now expanded to include a live drummer, bassist and keyboardist (respectively, Anna Schulte, Marco Gonzalez and Robin Eisenberg). Welchez and Rowell remain the creative minds behind the project. Not long after the release of their debut album, Summer of Hate, the group started gaining clout when fellow Southern California noise-punks No Age put the album’s single, “Neon Jesus,” on their list of the year’s best songs. 

Crocodiles’ connections to acts like Dum Dum Girls and No Age have surely helped them garner credentials, but they couldn’t have done it had they not been so independently innovate. They consistently create these casually brash tracks and are unabashedly having fun in the process (which is always appreciated). They play their own brand of noise-punk (or pop depending on their mood) whose initially ragged exterior is just the surface for a strongly melodic core and can simultaneously flirt with chaos and delicacy — with risk and comfort. The band is retracing lines made by 1960′s garage acts in a color they invented themselves.

Each album Crocodiles puts out seems to boast of some new claim to affiliated stardom. James Ford who has also worked with Arctic Monkeys and Florence and the Machine produced the group’s second album, Sleep Forever. Their third album, Endless Flowers, was self-produced which is always a credible way for a band to prove their multifaceted musicianship. Last month, Crocodiles released its fourth full-length album, Crimes of Passion which is where The Ravonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner enters the picture as the album’s producer.

I can only imagine that the unadulterated energy the group brings to its recorded sound will be matched, if not exceeded, in a live setting.  Crocodiles will be returning from Europe to tour most of the US. You can check out their upcoming tour dates here and download Crimes of Passion over at Frenchkiss Records.