Mikal Cronin

iTunes Editors’ Notes

If you're familiar with Mikal Cronin's collaborations with Ty Segall, or his stint as singer/bassist for The Moonhearts, you might wonder if this is the same guy. On the garage rocker's self-titled debut LP, the flavors of the day are more of the vintage-pop variety. The fuzz'n'scuzz of his other projects is stripped away on several tunes in favor of jangly guitars and sensitive-guy vocals that make the lyrics actually discernible. Cronin offsets his passion for distortion and grit with acoustic guitars, clear vocals, and even Merseybeat melodies. "Is It Alright" cracks open with a bit of noise, then falls into sweet jangle and easy melody—until John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees introduces us to hardcore flute-punk while the band pummels the listener about two minutes in. (Other guests include Charlie Moonheart and Segall on drums.) Similar fluctuations course throughout Mikal Cronin, with the combative "Green and Blue" bleeding into the cooing chorus and spangled shimmer of "Get Away" and the crisp rattle and shine of "Again and Again" melting into the slow waltz of "Hold on Me." The ruminative "The Way Things Go" eventually dissolves into chaos. Beautiful chaos.