Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Mikal Cronin

Joining us in the studio for this Indie Rock Hit parade live session is a musician who’s carved out a prolific career in the southern California rock scene. In addition to his solo work, Mikal Cronin can often be heard in various projects led by garage-punk polyglot Ty Segall. His contributions to other artists’ albums aren’t limited to guitar and bass; Cronin played saxophone on releases by Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff and recent IRHP guest Shannon Lay. While on tour with Lay in support of his latest album, Seeker, Cronin and his trusty trio stopped by our studio to tear through a set of new songs.

Our session begins with the first song that was released from Seeker: the anthemic “Show Me.” Based around a reverent Petty-esque riff, Cronin has described the lyrics as being “about feeling small in an overwhelming world.” Images of wide oceans and dense forests are reinforced by Cronin’s harmonizing with bassist Kevin Boog. Next is “Fire,” which begins with a gentle country-rock amble before erupting into a stop-start middle section that serves as a workout for drummer Thomas Alvarez. Another one of Seeker‘s singles, “I’ve Got Reason,” follows, and it’s one of Cronin’s signature jagged rockers. An arpeggiated figure guides the verses and a thundering solo decays into dissonant, delay-affected strums. Finally there’s “Guardian Well.” All three musicians take a turn in the spotlight in this thrilling, lighters-in-the-air curtain call.

Listen to Mikal Cronin’s Indie Rock Hit Parade session below and check out some photos from the studio: