In the midst of a London heatwave, Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez, the core duo behind San Diego’s Crocodiles, took to the stage at The Lexington decked out in leather jackets. Sunglasses too. Not the most practical look for the weather, but one that seemed somehow appropriate. After all, if you want to rock, step one is to look the part. And they did look cool – cool enough to ignore the temperature entirely. Maybe it’s because they’re named after cold-blooded reptiles. Maybe it’s just rock ‘n’ roll.
Fortunately, the style isn’t just surface-level. Touring behind their latest album, Greetings From Hell, Crocodiles delivered a tight, energetic performance that proved there’s plenty of substance beneath the leather. The songs arrived with a satisfying mix of fuzz, melody and garage rock urgency, while the band’s easy chemistry kept the crowd engaged throughout.
The newer material fit in seamlessly alongside older favourites, with Greetings From Hell tracks “Time Is Wasting Me” and “In Love With a Ghost” standing out as particular highlights, both translating brilliantly to the live setting with an added sense of urgency and grit.
While a dedicated crowd of fans showed up for the gig, there was an obvious competitor for everyone’s attention. England were facing Norway in the World Cup, with the match showing downstairs in the pub. Rather than pretend it wasn’t happening, the band leaned into it, introducing themselves as being from Norway before making a comment about football hooligans. That was about as much time as they gave the subject though. Once the amps kicked in, there were more interesting things happening upstairs.
As the show came to an end and the crowd spilled back downstairs to either catch the end of the match or head elsewhere, two things were clear: Crocodiles put on a killer show and leather jackets in July are probably a terrible idea. But to paraphrase Mike Judge in Office Space, it’s all about the atmosphere and the attitude. And on Saturday night, Crocodiles came prepared with the rock ‘n’ roll equivalent of 37 pieces of flair.
