Mikal Cronin

Not that he needs any more accolades, as there are about to be a ton coming down on MCII, but the album is a pretty hefty jump from Cronin's debut. On top of the psycheleia and power pop crunch that pervaded his previous work, Mikal's added a whole slew of lush pop touches, as evident in the building piano trills on opener "Weight". It’s a softer side that shows a bit of a departure from the guitar whiplash he's wrought with Ty over the last few years. Previous single "Am I Wrong" rears its head again, and in context it makes much more sense than as an addendum to the debut. Here it nestles nicely between the bombast of guitar swirling underneath "See It My Way" and the sweet pop hangover of first single "Shout It Out". Everything about MCII is bigger, grander and more swooningly delivered than before and the change looks good on Cronin. It has him headed for bigger territory than even I would have imagined on the debut. Scrappy no more, the boy makes good on any expectations that could have been levied after his eponymous breakout.

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