“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.”…”
“Mac’s hitting the road this summer for an epic US/Canada tour…”
“…Cronin’s sincere, gentle approach breathes new life into the Scot rockers’ oft-mocked chugger, which came to fame via 1993’s Benny & Joon.”
“…Today’s Top Tune is the churning “Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster,” from their CD, Floating Coffin.”
“…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…”
“Cartoon hub Adult Swim recently leaked new tunes by Thee Oh Sees and the Black Lips to promote their Dr. Pepper-assisted Garage Swim comp, and today (May 6) it is giving the whole thing away for free…”
“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…”
“John Dwyer’s otherworldly vocal yelps belie the morbid lyrical undertones of Floating Coffin, his prolific band’s latest collection of joyous nihilism…”
“…The Montreal-based musician’s latest slo-fi album, 2, and crazy stage antics have made him a favourite with Pitchfork, European festivals, bloggers and Phoenix…”
“…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.”
Mac DeMarco performs his track, “Still Together” on Zündfunk Video Unplugged.
“Thee Oh Sees set my brain on fire… My music nerd brain tries to summon the name of every band they remind me of…”
The outcome is a great sounding album that sits nicely between the poles of “fuzz war” and “cooing balladeer.” Cronin has proved with this album that, like Cobain…
“…the horn-enriched “Better Man” marries a winding, delicate melody to swaths of glowing distortion, resulting in a fragile but formidable tune…”
“Strap on a pair of headphones because SPIN has collected 10 albums that are ready for streaming…”
“Cross-dressing and later undressing, off-kilter Canadian pop singer Mac DeMarco smears makeup and whipped cream over his face in the new video for lo-fi glam lullaby, “My Kind of Woman”…
“…Per usual, the proceeds of the digital sales go to the Ariel Panero Memorial Fund. The 7” comes in a special edition “bronze and beer haze” vinyl…”
“…Prepare to get intimately familiar with the gap in between Mac DeMarco’s front teeth, and learn what he looks like in a dress and wig…”
“…the performance clip opens with a brief homage to Woody Allen’s Manhattan before cutting to the psych-sludge track…”
“…Adult Swim offer a quick taste of the upcoming mix via Thee Oh Sees’ rollicking “Devil Again,” a reliably sloppy jaunt from the San Francisco fuzz warriors….”
“…The free compilation, sponsored by Dr. Pepper and titled Garage Swim, collects 15 previously unreleased songs and is set for a May 6 release date…”
“MCII offers an even split of hooks, beauty and brawn…”
