Crocodiles - Summer Of Hate

Yanking the title of Echo & The Bunnymen's debut album as their moniker, Crocodiles floor their Delorean to 88 miles per hour, and land into the heart of eighties revivalism with plenty of lo-fi grit. Filled with echoing reverb, sheets of white noise and the underlying bubblegum pop that fueled Jesus and Mary Chain albums, Crocodiles may have a strike against them from Reagan babies hesitant over mimicry. But out the gate, Summer Of Hate nails it with their first two songs, "I Wanna Kill" & "Soft Skull (In My Room)", a delicious bubble of pop swaddled in sonic gauze followed by a rocker woven from a ravel of pealing guitar. On "Here Comes The Sky", they soften their edges for a moment, offering a dreamy sleepwalking ballad. But they return with the stalking beat of "Flash Of Light" which refuses to die; it ends in a near two-minute long feedback loop, challenging even the diehard lover noise. A solid debut!