Mikal Cronin

love this guy's music.

MCII is the best power pop in ages.

His Trouble In Mind label release was my fave of 2011. Looking forward to the new one - breaking my 'no records for a while' pledge for that when it comes out.

yeah this new album has really grown on me -- at first i thought it seemed a little watered down, but there are some great tunes here.

yeah, at first it might sound like a Sloan-gone-Garage kinda thing, but the man KNOWS how to write songs.

i think i just had the ty segall shows i had seen recently ringing in my ears when i first heard it...

he made a departure from sounding like Segall. good decision.

Been listening to the stream of this all last week and just got the vinyl tonite, spun it twice. Gosh it's glorious, I feel like he's really gonna break big and has bigger-than-TY potential.

last one was great, i'll have to check this

vinyl arrived today, gonna be nice to blast this.

have been playing the two singles almost nonstop for weeks now. "shout it out" will be one of my songs of the year.

" I feel like he's really gonna break big and has bigger-than-TY potential."

his songwriting a-la AC Newman/Shins style strengthen your theory.

Kind of enjoyed this in the sun yesterday when i was stoned, less so when sober today. bit too cheesy imo.

Last song is so wonderful. Whole album is just a joy. Seeing him next week and cannot wait.

I haven't heard the new one yet, but I've played the hell out of this tune for the last year or so. Totally timeless:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHvcL2g_mu4

Nice. Was just reading Chris Richards in the Washington Post saying that Cronin's new one "might end up being the most likeable rock album of the year."

It makes Teenage Fanclub sound like Crass.

Don't necessarily mean this in a negative way, but to me it sounds exactly like Ben Kweller!

the world could use lots more "Sha Sha"-era Kweller imo

It makes Teenage Fanclub sound like Crass.

LOL!

was rlly into this song a few years back. makes belle and sebatian sound like cannibal corpse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHFDnUEiH30

some funny cover choices here: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2013/05/07/the-lagniappe-sessions-mikal-cronin/

Liking "Shout it Out" from the new one a lot, and looking forward to seeing him live Friday in W. D.C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFTCkyeTuAY

It sounds very muscular live - not lo-fi treble-heavy power pop at all. He's got a pretty crack band.

I find myself wondering why this guy cuts through with people and Title Tracks never has - I think Title Tracks is the better songwriting by miles (don't get me wrong, I like Cronin)

Saw him live over the weekend and he was great. Was using Ty Segall's drummer for some reason.

I find myself wondering why this guy cuts through with people and Title Tracks never has

Was using Ty Segall's drummer for some reason.

He's Ty Segall's bass player answers both of these questions.

title tracks first album is stunning but i was disappointed by the second - cronin's first album is way better than it

I gave this a quick listen weeks ago and it didn't leave much of an impression, but I'm thinking that maybe I should give it another go.

"weight" is all-time great i think, just a microcosm of everything i want out of rock music in 2013

I like this stuff in theory but I find it ultimately to be curiously lightweight - he has all the right elements in place - well crafted etc but there are no surprises after the first listen and the work as a whole lacks any kind of resonance. Same kind of feeling I get from listening to Savages - too much reverence for the source material maybe.

It makes Teenage Fanclub sound like Crass.

LOL!

Yeah, LOL I guess, but c'mon, this is a bit silly. There's more crunch in the "Shout It Out" chorus than the past 20 years of TFC's catalog combined. (TFC is one of my all-time fave bands, fwiw.)

I understand concerns that Cronin's record feels lightweight or whatever. For me, it teeters close to that, but never quite gets there. And it certainly helps that dude's hooks are unstoppable.

Lastly: I like the Title Tracks record I have quite a bit, but I think it's a couple rungs down the ladder from Cronin. I think the Segall affiliation has helped Cronin, but I wouldn't say it's pushed him far beyond where he deserves to be based on his talent.

i like him if i don't remind myself the fact that he sounds like The Shins.

I understand concerns that Cronin's record feels lightweight or whatever.

I meant it as a compliment.

Live he was more garage-rock last night (with the band's other guitarist & bassist looking like young long-haired '70 bar banders). They encored with a nice cover of Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World" . I only know the latest album, and he did plenty of earlier stuff

So I gave this another chance, as promised, as it hit the mark a little bit more this time around... enough to make me want to give it another couple of listens at least.

*as=and

it only took this 3 or 4 days to become my most played record of the year

Really loving "Shout it Out" from the new one. Sounded great live too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UBpH0ft1ko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr5P5Qc1b8A

love it

god status

new album sounds a lot like the shins, which isn't really a diss, i guess

it sounded really dull on first pass, but I'll give it a few more tries.