"After years playing bass with lo-fi rocker Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin is stepping into his own spotlight and has proven he's more than a singularly talented sideman. The San Francisco-based songwriter plays practically every instrument on MCII, a power pop record driven by layers of crunchy guitars and earworm hooks so singable they can be difficult to get out of your head. That said, Cronin's real strength is his ability to write deeply personal and introspective songs that can still rock hard."
I drove home from Birmingham tonight to see Alt-J perform at the godforsaken Masquerade. I don't have time to blog about it now because I have to drive back early in the morning, but I'll just point out that Soundcheck's Maura Johnston and Chris Weingarten included Alt-J among their Worst Music Of 2012, their least favorite, least memorable and just plain worst music of the year, calling Alt-J a "mealy indie-rock gruel barely bolstered by thin, noodly attempts at 'prog rock,' paired with a sour whine."
On the other hand, All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen raved, "This record has sucked me into its trippy world like no other. Each pop/art/rock song here morphs from verse to chorus to bridge with deft precision. Rarely will 20 seconds go by before a tune unfolds with shifting arrangements, jolting starts and stops — solo voice to harmonies, solo instrument to full band — something we expect from prog-rock and rarely get with catchy pop music. The lyrics are the secret potion, though, dispensed in a way that feels cartoonish at times, film noir at other times. That exaggerated style creates a puzzle that unfolds with each listen, revealing bizarre stories and characters in phrases that are fresh and mysterious, funny and sometimes brutal. Listen over and over for lasting effect."
