Mikal Cronin - MCII
Critic Score
Based on 24 reviews
2013 Ratings: #58 / 1115
User Score
Based on 195 ratings
2013 Rank: #149
Liked by 1 person
May 7, 2013 / Release Date
LP / Format
Merge / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
A.V. Club

MCII exhibits such an easy, enjoyable knack for pop songwriting that, whatever it is, it’ll almost certainly be a joy to behold.

90
SPIN
Over ten songs detailing a young man's despair and self-doubt, he delivers a performance that's both deeply confident and convincingly vulnerable, replete with stark, piano-based meditations and fuzz-pedal-abetted fury.
90
Consequence of Sound

His fleshed out followup and Merge debut, MCII, feels like something substantial, anthemic, and, to crib from Burt Reynolds, “out of this world.”

90
Uncut

MCII hits you with the immediacy of a record that you're listening to for the first time but feel like you've already heard a thousand times and yet still aren't bored of.

85
Beats Per Minute

Though the subject matter is serious, the record is consistently catchy, with Cronin’s vocals sitting cleanly atop fuzzy guitars, strings, and piano.

85
The 405

Not only are his lyrics and themes wonderfully whittled, his fretwork is phenomenal; the resulting combination is a release that has the capacity to astonish on your first listen.

84
Pitchfork

One of the most impressive things about MCII is how Cronin balances "power" and "pop".

83
Pretty Much Amazing

MCII, ironically, is inventive in its constant recreation of a single trope: the use of simple progressions with several different dressings. As an album set out to reappropriate pop rock, MCII succeeds.

82
Paste

There remains just the right amount of depth to these summery sounds. Cronin’s lyrics, too, contain just the right amount of open-endedness.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

With his psychedelia less oblique, his lyrics more concrete, and his desire to please more present than it was with any of his prior associates, Cronin puts pleasure first and hopes for the longevity enjoyed by his musical antecedents.

80
Spectrum Culture
As long as Cronin churns out catchy garage pop and devastatingly good piano ballads, his music will provide a distraction to himself and to the many millennials who will take solace in knowing that they’re not the only ones out there who can’t find peace of mind.
80
The Observer
Listen in and the lyrics soundtrack a mid-youth crisis ("I've been starting over for a long time," Cronin croons as the album opens), but not so as to dent the overall impression of an ozone high.
80
NOW Magazine
The melodies sound effortless, but there’s complexity under the surface.
80
Mojo
Cronin delvers timeless, classic pop that evades cliches.
80
Alternative Press

"Piano Mantra" is ambitious, but he pulls it all off in an epic way--which could be said for MCII as a whole.

80
Slant Magazine
This is an album that exudes playfulness, treating genre as something that's malleable and isn't afraid to poke open wounds if it means creating a piece of art that connects emotionally.
80
Exclaim!

Cronin offers new experiments on MCII, but errs just enough on the side of caution to create a fantastic pop record.

80
No Ripcord

Cronin certainly does share some commonalities with his longtime collaborator Ty Segall, particularly a fondness for guitar solos, nasally vocals, and bombastic percussion. However, MCII sounds much more concise and meticulously assembled than any of Segall's efforts.

80
PopMatters

The scope of Cronin’s offerings impress as much as his performance of them, opening up the category he’s working in, not unlike what his better-known comrade Ty Segall has been doing over the past few years.

80
musicOMH

It’s perhaps a risk for Cronin to take a partial step away from hazy psychedelic rock in favour of plaintive emoting, but it’s a risk he navigates extremely successfully.

70
DIY

Cronin might have been previously better known as Ty Segall’s collaborator and live band member, but ‘MCII’ will certainly cement him as an excellent singer-songwriter in his own right.

70
Under the Radar

Listeners may find themselves settling comfortably with Cronin right where he was probably hoping to be at this moment. 

70
AllMusic

Cronin's second album is a step forward from his debut and shows off a guy with enough talent to step out from behind Segall's shadow and make it on his own.

60
Q Magazine
It's a pleasant listen but never quite sparks.
Caffro
86

Super catchy garage rock tunes with a poppy feel to them. Cronin's vocals are wonderful. Definitely the album of the Summer so far.

79

"MCII" is a refreshing reminder that power pop/rock music need not innovate or expand beyond its roots in order to be great. It's basically a collection of addictively melodic, well-performed, guitar-hook-laden songs that fit in concise pop packages, but transcend any limitations due to the sheer well-craftedness of the material and Mikal Cronin's palpably passionate delivery. Closer "Piano Mantra" shows that Cronin is perfectly capable of composing in other styles; the rest ... read more

joewindlebrox
87

One of the best straight up pop-rock records to have come out in a long while. Mikal Cronin's guitar work is fantastic and his lyrics match his songs perfectly. A highly enjoyable album.

CheapandLethal
65

Better stuff out there

79

"MCII" is a refreshing reminder that power pop/rock music need not innovate or expand beyond its roots in order to be great. It's basically a collection of addictively melodic, well-performed, guitar-hook-laden songs that fit in concise pop packages, but transcend any limitations due to the sheer well-craftedness of the material and Mikal Cronin's palpably passionate delivery. Closer "Piano Mantra" shows that Cronin is perfectly capable of composing in other styles; the rest ... read more

45

Had this album come out in the early 00s, everyone would be spitting on it nowadays. It seems Mikal Cronin is suffering from a reverse Benjamin Button syndrome, he's getting older physically but his mind is getting ever so younger. I wouldn't call this garage rock but emo. It all sounds like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Panic! at the Disco mushed into one record.

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Added on: February 5, 2013