A return to garage-form; what Krol may have once seen as his foible, has now become his greatest strength - a natural vulnerability housed within pummelling chords, rattling drums and barely audible vocals.
The licks are loud and frequent, the choruses are snappy and filled with hooks, and if at least one of these songs doesn't dig its way into your head for a day, there's a good chance you're not a lot of fun.
Pledging allegiance to fuzz, this power-pop barrage squares off against heartache, disappointment, and sleepless nights—and survives.
Power Chords is much more lyrically mature and musically adept than your average garage rock record, and its teenage sheen might urge you to fanatically scroll the lyrics on your notebook or bedroom wall of choice.
Krol is that increasing rare and wondrous species, a natural born rock & roller, and the chunky barrage of guitars, drums, and soulful bellowing that comprises Power Chords is the work of a regular guy with an above average ability to kick out the jams and make them signify.
Tied down by his buzz saw vocals and shattered guitars, Power Chords finds an endless groove in 35 minutes or less.
You might absorb a couple of hooks and riffs and edit it down to your own abridged version, but you’ll be left wanting more than Krol’s willing to provide.
Fun, but also forgettable, Power Chords marks a not-so-bold transition for an artist who's on track to reinvent his sound.
It’s basically like an American garage rock band from 1993 that is desperately trying to remain lo-fi and hang on by its fingernails to its DIY principles, whilst it’s perineum is being stroked by a producer in a Nashville recording studio with a big pot of polish to buff this record until you can see your face in it.
REALLY GOOD
Sure, it's not the most original album ever, but I REALLY enjoyed this album. This might actually just be me coming down from an intense Jay Reatard high, so in a matter of weeks, I might like Power Chords much less than I do now. But at the moment, it was a very enjoyable rock record from an artist whose discography I WILL be checking out.
FOR FANS OF: CRX, Jay Reatard, Superchunk, Ty Segall, Royal Headache, White Reaper
Even though I would give this album a 73 I still enjoyed it a ton. The parts that were good were just a ton of fun and I see myself going back to those songs a ton. Even though this was big leap forward for Mike Krol what I feel that could’ve really scored this album would be more experimentation. Which he really hit that sweet spot for me on certain songs but the other songs I couldn’t recall the melody or anything other than that it sounds like Mike Krol. Again still really ... read more
1 | Power Chords 3:22 | 79 |
2 | What's the Rhythm 2:31 | 60 |
3 | An Ambulance 3:15 | 60 |
4 | Little Drama 2:48 | 78 |
5 | Left for Dead 2:40 | 60 |
6 | Blue and Pink 3:32 | 70 |
7 | I Wonder 3:21 | 70 |
8 | Wasted Memory 2:04 | 70 |
9 | Nothing to Yell About 2:56 | 70 |
10 | Arrow in My Heart 3:36 | 60 |
11 | The End 3:32 | 60 |