MCII
On Mikal Cronin's first album for Merge, the Ty Segall collaborator balances the "power" and "pop" elements of his sound with aplomb, while sounding utterly out of sync internally. It's pop poetry for the aloof, and Cronin's most fully realized, beautifully arranged, well-crafted work to date.
Two songs into Mikal Cronin’s sophomore album, MCII, he decides to tell, not show, unveiling the record’s thesis statement earnestly: “I’m pretty good at making things harder to see / And turning problems back to me / It’s not the way I want to be.” The 27-year-old garage-punk wunderkind has been playing music—often…
If you only know Mikal Cronin as a member of Ty Segall's band, you might be in for a shock on his debut album for Merge, 2013's MC II.
On sophomore solo release MCII, the Ty Segall collaborator mixes wistful pop with fuzzed-out guitar rock to celebrate the advent of life's new directions, even if they're haunted by the shadows of the past.
If Mikal Cronin had a lot going on in his life (exiting college, a relationship, and life in L.A.) around the release of his 2011 debut album, MCII is the sound of someone who moved on and found solid ground.
Garage-pop scenester Mikal Cronin's second album makes a mid-youth crisis sound joyful, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong>