Greetings From Hell

Crocodiles — 2026

“A loud, bruised, hook-heavy ripper that never lets its emotional weight drag the tempo down.”

Eighteen years is a long time to keep a band weird on purpose. Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez have been doing exactly that since they first crossed paths at an antifascist gathering in San Diego as teenagers, and Greetings From Hell makes a strong case that the sheer stubbornness of their vision has only sharpened with time. This is their ninth record, again produced by Jonah Falco of Fucked Up, who first worked with them on 2023’s Upside Down in Heaven. Where that album felt like Crocodiles stepping into many different genres, this one pulls the curtains just slightly and keeps it going down a more fuzz-pop, garage rock, and pop-punk road. The guitars still shimmer, but there is more grit baked overall into the finish. The album doesn’t like to slow down and the result is an record that deserves more volume every time you hit play.

Lyrically the album sits with loss of a specific kind: not heartbreak exactly, but the particular burn of realizing someone has taken something from you that you cannot get back. Brandon Welchez has talked about rewriting several songs mid-session after his life got upended, and you can feel that pivot. With that said, Greetings From Hell does not spend all of its time in the darkness. The melodies keep each song memorable because overall it still returns to the pop the band has always favored while Falco keeps the production muscular. There are moments where a reverb tail trails into what sounds like genuine grief, and then a bright chord cuts right through it. This is easily one of those records you can put on and play anytime of the day or anytime of the year and it just rocks out.

“Time Is Wasting Me” is the album’s best argument for itself: a three minute shot of gritty punk energy where the guitar line practically buzzes off the fretboard while Welchez delivers the lyrics with just enough controlled fury to make the message land. It is the kind of opener that tells you exactly what you are getting on this album.

“I Dream of Genet” earns its literary reference without being precious about it, building toward a pop chorus that feels genuine.

“Still Kids” rips from the beginning and hits differently once you understand the album’s headspace as it holds onto something while knowing it is already gone.

Do you like Jesus and Mary Chain’s louder moments or found yourself wanting more of that classic Exploding Hearts sound with all in group vocals? Well, if you said yes then Greetings From Hell will feel immediately familiar in the best way, sharing that same instinct for balancing an emotional weight inside a song that wants to tear your speakers off the wall. I also think the classic guitar of The Replacements and Redd Kross show up here while fans of Jay Reatard, Cloud Nothings, Waaves and some earlier The Pains of Being Pure at Heart will really like this album.

Greetings From Hell is the sound of a band that has nothing left to prove and has decided to use that freedom to make some of their most focused and direct music of their career. It is worth every minute.