Sleeper, Segall’s sole major release of 2013 after a series of personal losses, eschews his signature fuzz guitar for a mostly unplugged affair, and the newly acoustic warrior’s embrace…
In a May cover story, we declared Mikal Cronin the best rock songwriter in San Francisco, based on the strength of his first album for the titan indie label Merge. Now that it’s December, we have no regrets.
For Floating Coffin, Dwyer involved the other band members in the songwriting like he hadn’t in a long time, and the result is a vicious, grin-inducing document of fuzz-guitar brutality and seductive, boundless grooves.
When it came to quality power pop in 2013, pardon the pun but there was nobody better than Ezra Furman.
Mikal Cronin makes the creation of strummy, jangly, shout-along songs seem as easy and natural as opening a window and letting the breeze whip past your steering wheel.
MCII finds Cronin as a twenty-something in existential crisis, confronting the transition — and associated questions and adjustments — from youth to adulthood.
Per his m.o., psych/garage journeyman Ty Segall stayed busy in 2013. In addition to relocating from San Francisco Los Angeles, Segall recorded and performed with two disparate projects this year.
Sleeper makes it more obvious that, while Segall remains really good at yelling, he doesn’t have to do it forever if he doesn’t want to.
John Dwyer and co. do not stop. Loose and heavy, Floating Coffin finds the Bay Area vets burning through the darkness. Riffs abound, and while you might show up for the shred, it’s the intermittent levity that holds it all together
One of, if not the best reel-in from US indie label Captured Tracks is the enigmatic jovial prankster of Montreal, Mac DeMarco.
Despite being generally averse to the spotlight, Cronin stole the show with his irreverent flair for dramatics. A bare minimum of his time was spent crooning to the mic, whimpering soft verses or bellowing jubilant choruses.
There was more chemistry between the members than in all 5 seasons of breaking bad as they effortlessly segued between slower ballads and hard rock, then cheeky covers of classics – including a karaoke version of Stairway to Heaven.
There is much joy to be found in the contradictions of Mac DeMarco. A dirtbag with a heart of gold, approaching the microphone in a baseball cap and dungarees, rollie dangling from a gap-toothed grin as the band kick into an effortless…
This swirling mix of emotions is also the best way to describe Mikal Cronin’s own mad dash from the world of psychedelic garage rock toward a lush garden of power pop beauty and sublime contemplation.
During his performance, though, Cronin kept things raw and fuzzy as he crammed 13 songs into 50 minutes with near-Ramonesque efficiency.
Thanks to everyone who attended Saturday’s The Bay Brewed 2013. The third annual installment of our rock and roll beer festival brought together hundreds of beer and music fans for a chance to sample…
The fifth annual HAMP Fest features performances by Quintron & Miss Pussycat, the Mike Dillon Band, Vox and the Hound, and Les Autres.
On Thursday night (12/12), Mikal Cronin came through Chicago for a show at the Logan Square Auditorium with support from Yawn and Basic Cable. Cronin and co. performed tunes from his self-titled LP and MCII…
Contrast is what the seven-strong collective does well, they exude a slacker mentality yet are relentless with recording and touring, and delve into the depths of ockerism while professing brazen wit.
…I heard Ty Segall band member Mikal Cronin’s debut solo album, I loved it. The second time, I still loved it. The hundredth time, I couldn’t even hear it. I took a little break. But now that he’s back with a whole new album…
It’s the sense of prohibition-era rockabilly breathed into a modern day after-life for kids who still don’t give a fuck.
NXNE will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2014. The festival takes place June 13-22 in Toronto. The initial lineup has been announced, and it includes St. Vincent, Danny Brown, Mac DeMarco…
NXNE is returning for its 20th year in 2014 from June 13-22 in Toronto, and the initial music lineup has just been announced. It includes St. VIncent, Juicy J, Danny Brown, Rhye, Mac DeMarco…
Spillover Music Festival, Parade of Flesh’s annual festival featuring of some of the best bands at SXSW with 1000% less nonsense to deal with, has just announced the first portion of its 2014 lineup. Featured bands include pop shit-starter Ty Segall…
Simply put, MCII is as close as anybody got to pop perfection in 2013. Its mix of fuzzed-out guitars, Beach Boy-esque harmonies and Phil Spector-like production is hard to resist…
Joining Dave in the studio today is none other than Ty Segall! He’s one of the most, if not THE most, prolific musicians of our time, and such a nice guy. They talked “freaking out”…
No longer a cult band championed by in-the-know indie nerds, Thee Oh Sees have become trendsetters thanks to their ever-broadening sonic language and seemingly tireless work ethic.
Ezra Furman has made an album of classicist rock’n’roll that never feels like an exercise, but a living, breathing piece of self-expression.
The Four Oh Five post photos of Ty Segall’s show at The Scala
Prior to this year Cronin was best known for being a Bay Area garage rock crony to the likes of Ty Segall, who may have been the only person to see the sun-breaking-through-the-clouds brilliance of this year’s MCII coming.
