Mikal Cronin’s MCII was a pleasant surprise in ways that are not usual in the internet era of oversaturation and maximum hype n’ roll all the time. More below.
Listen:
I’d heard of Mikal Cronin before but that was literally all I knew: the name. That being said, MCII’s piano driven “Weight” is a perfect intro to an album full of existentially critical lyrics, catchy guitars, and overall brightness that is perfectly balanced in Cronin’s brand of indie pop. “Piano Mind,” “I’m Done Running Away From You,” and “Don’t Let Me Go” are all must listens as well.
The folk of Jim Guthrie’s Takes Time starts off strong and alcoholic with “Taking My Time”––an ode to just lazing away with a bottle of wine as your companion. The rest of the album kind of bled into the background a little but its still worth a listen.
I really, really have never understood the appeal of She & Him. I enjoy Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward separately as much as anyone else. Put them together though, and their thick sheen of sad nostalgic tunes has always made me grit my teeth together in a way that no retainer could contain. I went into Volume 3 with an optimistic state of mind, but I don’t think this is any different from Volume 1 or Volume 2 so people who enjoy those records must be excited? I think Deschanel’s voice is getting even lower which is actually pretty awesome, other than that I guess I’ll wait to see how Volume 4 makes me feel?
Watch:
To be honest the only thing I care about after watching Kendrick Lamar’s video for the amazing “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” is how much money he made off the beats pill product placement.
The National’s video for “Sea of Love” features them playing in a confined space while a little boy rocks out the whole time.
Read:
Johnny Marr on his recently released album The Messenger.
Vampire Weekend interviewed by Carrie Battan over at Pitchfork. Choice quote:
“I had this feeling that the world doesn’t want a song called ‘Dying Young’,” says Koenig, “it just sounded so heavy and self-serious, whereas ‘Diane Young’ sounded like a nice person’s name.”
Random Nostalgia:
It’s that time of year.
