Merge Records
Former Madisonian Mike Krol abandoned a career in graphic design in 2011 and moved a few times before landing in the Los Angeles area. One constant has been music: During his time in Madison he was often spotted on stage assisting Sleeping in the Aviary and its related projects. During the past few years Krol self-released a pair of top-notch 10-inch records of spiky, concise power pop; both clock in at under 20 minutes and feature carefully designed packaging, guaranteed to capture the heart of both the design-conscious and any vinyl collector with a sense of humor.
Last week, Krol re-emerged with a new release via indie juggernaut Merge Records. Turkey measures 12-inches rather than the customary 10. But in other respects, it follows the pattern set by Krol’s first discs: design-conscious and cleverly packaged, but more importantly, another set of power-pop stompers. Krol will celebrate the release with a tour kick-off in-store event Friday, Sept. 4, in the vinyl basement at Strictly Discs, at 6 p.m.
Turkey was mostly all played/sung by Krol himself, with assistance from former Sleeping in the Aviary members Phil Mahlstadt on bass and Elliott Kozel on keyboards. They’ll both perform on Krol’s tour (Kozel for European shows), as well as SITA drummer Michael Sienkowski and guitarist Kyle Sobczak; Sean Lango of New York indie-poppers Palmyra; and Shaun Owens-Agase, who during his Madison days played in Eyebeams with Sienkowski.
For a taste of Turkey, check out the video for lead single “Neighborhood Watch”:
