For the last few years, change has both defined San Diego-based duo Crocodiles and made them impossible to define. They were initially a sludgy, doomy garage combo, but Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell’s recent efforts (usually manifesting in an album per year) have pushed the boundaries of guitar-based psych/pop. Calling Dreamless merely the band’s foray into electronica is a bit reductive and not entirely accurate, though the album features more synthetic elements than any of its five predecessors. With the aid of frequent collaborator Martin Thulin on keys, Welchez and Rowell reimagine their attack on Dreamless, opting for Joy Division-esque menace (“Go Now”) and dark disco (“Maximum Penetration”). The songs range from grimy rave-ups like “I’m Sick” to oddly bubbly closer “Not Even In Your Dreams.” Dreamless might not be as thunderous as Endless Summer or as hooky as Crimes Of Passion, but it vastly improves on the scattershot Boys, suggesting that, at least for now, Crocodiles got their groove back.
—Eric Schuman
