Myles Pettengill
Cronin aimed for a concept album listeners could relate to.
While at college Mikal Cronin was sidelined by chronic back problems and had to return home for surgery. What followed was an extended period of debilitating malaise.
So when Cronin decided to write Circle — a small concept record as side B of his latest album, MCIII — that was the story that emerged. Instead of the more fantastical themes that often shape concept albums, Circle is a relatable story of personal misery leading to pivotal awakening. The result is a deft piece of power pop decorated with horns, strings and a cool Greek instrument called the tzouras.
On Sept. 11, Cronin opens for Thurston Moore at the High Noon Saloon. Cronin and his band won’t try to pull off Circle’s ornate arrangements live given their current numbers. But they do plan to pepper their set with songs from the album to keep up the energy.
“It would be great if I could afford a tour bus and all this crazy shit,” says Cronin. “But that’s off the table right now. No horn players. No string quartet.”
Isthmus spoke with Cronin about calling up 10-year-old feelings without the benefit of notes and why he chose reality over fantasy for his concept record.
When I revisit memories, I always wonder how accurate they are or whether my perception of those memories has altered over time. Were you conscious of that as you wrote Circle?
Definitely. I regret it now, but I’ve never kept journals. Still, in my memory I do have these strong flashes of vision, emotion and context. I boiled down a multi-month period into about 20 minutes of music. I remembered the key points and key emotions.... I use those memories, those little experiences, to contextualize the whole feeling of the time period.
You said you wanted to do a concept album about something relatable and avoid diving into fantasy. Do you have anything against fantastical concept albums?
I have absolutely nothing against it. It’s awesome. Using the hero’s quest or classic tropes — those people are summarizing a novel into a concept record and I’m sure have their own meaning and context behind it. But I felt it would be [closer to] what I’ve established in making records [under] my own name to keep it personal and not fantastical.
It’s not the craziest or most explosive plot ever, but it kind of holds its own weight. Like a breakup or a problem with a friend or feeling anxious about something you have to do in the future. Those aren’t the biggest stories in the world, but stringing all those together is a real, relatable life that everyone goes through.
Sometimes concept albums get so convoluted that the artist ends up having to tell everyone what it’s about. Mastodon has Rasputin flying through wormholes on a record, and in the end, the band had to explain that it’s actually about something really personal.
Yeah, there’s really only one character in mine, and that’s me. It’s maybe an unfortunate story, but it’s not a devastatingly heartbreaking story. It’s a thing that happens, and these things that happen are what normal lives are made out of.
