The group was formed in 2008 by core members Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell after the break-up of their former punk bands Some Girls and The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower.
[1] Whilst at the same time playing in an early incarnation of Dum Dum Girls (Welchez since divorced from frontwoman Dee Dee Penny, aka Kristin Kontrol), Crocodiles initially gained exposure in 2008 after fellow Southern California noise pop band No Age included their single "Neon Jesus" in a list of the year's best songs.
This led to the duo being signed to Mississippi-based label Fat Possum Records, who released the band's self-recorded debut album Summer of Hate, in April 2009.
In September 2010, Crocodiles released an instrumental song, "Kill Joe Arpaio", referencing the controversial anti-immigrant Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.
Crocodiles responded via Spin Magazine saying "Maybe if the song was called 'I'm Gonna Kill Joe Arpaio,' he'd have a case but what we are attacking is the attitudes and policies he represents.