Mikal Cronin’s “Shout it Out” included in NPR’s 50 Favorite Songs Of 2013 (So Far)
NPR
Cronin’s second album is full of spangly little garage-pop jams, but “Shout It Out” is its most impeccably buzzy anthem, without a second wasted.
Cronin’s second album is full of spangly little garage-pop jams, but “Shout It Out” is its most impeccably buzzy anthem, without a second wasted.
….to make the songs sound compelling even after you’ve worn the needle n your record player down to a nub. We’re hooked on the sweets Cronin’s serving up,…
If there’s anyone that can make solid power pop music right now, it’s Mikal Cronin. Each one of his songs contains a catchy beat that will keep you dancing from start to finish.
Cronin has done his songwriting homework, yet what he produces sounds amazingly fresh, and not at all studied.
For his second solo album, “MCII,” Mikal Cronin scrubbed some of the grime off his garage pop. Or rather, he decided not to add it in the first place.
The quasi-catchy, slightly askew songs collected on Mikal Cronin’s 2011 solo debut elbowed their way through fogs of fuzz.
It’s as profoundly emotional as it is carefully crafted—not only did Cronin record all the basic instrumental tracks himself, but he also wrings moments of stark sincerity from the music.
In July we get the indie rock stuff (curated by MoMA’s PopRally), with shows from Ex Cops on 7/4, TEEN on 7/11, Mikal Cronin on 7/18, and Ducktails on 7/25.
…it appears as though Mikal Cronin is living the dream. In addition to his ongoing gig as tour bassist in the Ty Segall Band, the Los Angeles-born musician recently…
Over ten songs detailing a young man’s despair and self-doubt, he delivers a performance that’s both deeply confident and convincingly vulnerable,…
Mikal Cronin’s set had a few technical difficulties, but they still got a lot of support from the crowd, especially one kid who got up on stage and sang into the mic.
“…But his new album for Merge, MCII, is not a garage-rock record, or a punk record. It’s a gorgeous, deeply personal pop record — jangly, hooky…”
“…before any expectations for MCII can fully set in, Cronin is already breaking all preconceptions, coming out of the gate with the album’s most relentlessly catchy, fully realized guitar-pop confection on a disc brimming over with ‘em…”
“…”Change” is its most aggressive moment, a “wild and wooly” guitar freakout “made more forceful by dizzying strings and woodwinds.”…”
“…Directed by Claire Marie Vogel, the video follows the antics of a wild house party…”
“…California fuzz-rocker Mikal Cronin has shared a grungy house-party clip to accompany “Change”, a highlight from his excellent new MCII LP…”
“…Cronin’s shiny, happy second album packs a surfeit of melody, an unexpected boogie-woogie piano solo, some violin, key changes to punch the air to…”
“MCII, smartly arranged with a keen, child-of-the-’90s ear for quiet-loud dynamics, is a glimmering feast of sun-licked, surf-spackled melody that benefits from the emotional layering that Cronin finds lacking in “fuck it garage-rock.”…”
“…Cronin’s sincere, gentle approach breathes new life into the Scot rockers’ oft-mocked chugger, which came to fame via 1993’s Benny & Joon.”
“…But MCII exhibits such an easy, enjoyable knack for pop songwriting that, whatever it is, it’ll almost certainly be a joy to behold.”
“…The Lagniappe Sessions return with Mikal Cronin, whose sophomore solo LP and Merge Records debut, MCII, lands at your favorite record store today…”
“His debut on Merge, the CoS Top Star-earning MCII, is the product of ever-shifting landscapes in Cronin’s personal and professional life…”
“Cronin’s sophomore release, MCII, is a nuanced collage of quintessentially “California” pop songs—or, at the very least, how the rest of the country perceives such songs to look and feel…”
“…It’s all about things I’m trying to figure out in my personal life and about myself. That seems to be pretty universal in twenty-something people, as I’ve discovered…”
“…The 7-minute mini-doc, directed and produced by Babak Khoshnoud and Will Abramson, follows Cronin around the Mission in San Francisco, into the studio, and down to the gritty-looking basement where he works…”
“I’ve listened to Mikal Cronin’s sophomore album about 54 times already. That doesn’t say anything else but this: It’s really good…”
“MCII, Cronin’s sophomore outing, is a fresh beginning. It’s a celebration of the new, even if that’s scary at times, rather than a reflection on the past…”
“The album itself is full of emotion, lushly layered with a saturation of sound (a formula that sounded distinctively familiar to my ear…”
“…For this edition, we spoke with Mikal Cronin, a member of Ty Segall Band whose second solo album, the Best New Music pick MCII, is out next week…”
“…Cronin has proved with this album that, like Cobain before him, he’s so much more than a longhair with a fuzz pedal. He’s an excellent pop craftsman who knows how to turn the power up for maximum effect.”