Get Hooked On Mikal Cronin's Musical Sweet Tooth

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 10, 2013 4:40PM

Photo by Denee Petracek

Many know Mikal Cronin through his work with and touring in Ty Segall's band, so it's no surprise that his own music be heavily driven by his fuzz pedal. But while Cronin doesn't shy away from volume his music is overwhelmingly sweet, with a core that owes a big debt to late '60s guitar pop. MCII, his sophomore album, sees Cronin manning most every instrument on every track to construct one man symphonies to, well if not god, than at least 21st century boys (and girls).

The subject matter is universal, all those things that we worry about including relationships, the future, the state of the world, that sort of thing. Half the time he's running towards love, the other half he's running away; this is all easily relatable stuff. This is essential to his approach though because while this all sounds natural and easy, it's in fact neither natural nor easy to convey these notions simplistically without resorting to cliche. Cronin's deft touch is what helps his songs avoid easy pitfalls and instead rise up as the strong compositions they are. His music sounds channelled from a time we've all known, but never actually existed. His inventive twists steer us just far enough away from easy familiarity 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, that's for sure.

Mikal Cronin plays tomorrow, June 11, at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western, 6 p.m. show is $10, 9 p.m. show is SOLD OUT, 21+