INTERVIEWSMikal Cronin's 'Shout It Out' Sweetly Screams Noise-Pop Mastery

'MCII' is due out on May 7 via Merge Records

Mikal Cronin might currently be best known for his work with Ty Segall, but there's a reason his solo album isn't titled Slaughterhouse. And it's not just because fellow California garage-rocker Segall already used it for one of his three (or was it three million?) albums last year. "Shout It Out," from Cronin's May 7 album MCII — his second overall and first for Merge Records — is melodic, jangling, hand-clapping, #90-hashtagging indie rock; sure, there's plenty of distortion, piss, and vinegar, but you don't ever worry that Black Sabbath are about to bite off some poor critter's head here. Instead, you're more concerned that somebody might've broken poor Cronin's heart. "Shit goes on and on and on," dude proclaims, between deceptively sugary oohs, until, shit, you remember that time somebody broke yours.

San Fran Garage-Pop Craftsman Mikal Cronin Talks Merge Debut