Endless Flowers

Crocodiles have a rip-roaring bite marked by pinprick stabs of white light, whooshing celestial trails, and hypnotic tenacity. Their music may shake your body in undulating circles, but it won't let go. With caterwauling, rusty-edged guitars, distortion battling melody, and vocals surging with pop desire, this San Diego outfit bloomed from a duo (Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell) to a quintet before recording Endless Flowers. Gone are the earlier electro-pop flavors, replaced with a fuller sound that's both grittier and glossier. Both the title track and "Sunday (Psychic Conversation #9)" are big, echoing tunes with dance floor blood coursing through the bulging bass and drums. A wistful, '80s alt-rock vibe colors the vocals and guitars. Metallic tambourine jangle and acoustic guitar accent the droning foundation of "Hung Up on a Flower," while "My Surfing Lucifer" is as loose, lanky, and appealing as a Bowie tune, with angled, skronky guitars and poppy background chorus. The iTunes bonus track "I'm Not a Young Man Anymore" takes the Velvet Underground song into a wonderfully noisy place, with its guitar melody turning the song inside out.