Crocodiles

San Diego’s Crocodiles aren’t from New Zealand, but they seem to share an aesthetic kinship with a number of the classic Flying Nun bands of the ’80s and ’90s like Straightjacket Fits and the Clean. But the members of Crocodiles have also clearly absorbed their share of sunny psychedelia by way of American garage rock, which means you’re in for shimmery yet edgy streaming drones punctuated by energetic melodies and deep grooves recalling the second half of Neu! 75. An immediate comparison to the Jesus and Mary Chain could be made from the retro-ish feel at the foreground of the band’s songwriting. And yet the group’s latest offering, Sleep Forever, is not, in fact, sleep-inducing; it is an exuberant, effervescent affair borne out in the Crocs’ live shows.