Album Of The Week: Mike Krol’s Turkey

Chock full of infectious fuzz and righteous noise to go with an adornment of pop hooks, Madison, Wisconsin, artist Mike Krol has something catchy for you to latch onto with his 3rd full-length, Turkey. Imagine The Cars’ brand of power pop blended with the sounds of The Stooges and MC5, and you’ll get something close to what Krol unleashes on his new release. Rapid fire rhythms will take over your senses while a reasonable amount of angst will give you an electrifying sensation. I don’t know if it’ll make you dance, but this Turkey won’t make you fall asleep.

Very raw and unapologetic, Turkey is abrasive as all hell in a beautiful way. You’ll dig Krol’s no-frills approach that avoids unnecessary production twerks some artists fall back on. Teenage frustrations are all over the album, so if you feel like punching something, Turkey could very well be your soundtrack to destruction. Also with Krol’s vocals coming through a guitar amp, there’s a unique dimension to everything that’s hard to duplicate.

Along with nearly everything that has to do with listening to music, you should turn it up to a reasonably loud volume when you press play. Just enough to wake up the neighbors, but not so they call the cops. Unless you’re the type who likes to live dangerously. Whether you’re the quintessential risk taker or not, you’ll love my top tracks off of the Album Of The Week:

An anthem for the alienated, especially in your local music scene, “Left Out (ATTN: SoCal Garage Rockers)” has that angst and frustration I mentioned earlier with a heavy dose of crazed noise from Krol’s guitar. The track that’s the most pop-addled is “La La La.” The chorus is obviously catchy and anyone who wants to let it out while concluding with a positive mental outlook can relate to this one. Another catchy one is “Cactuses.” Don’t let the pricks get you down, and rock out to this one with reckless abandon.

Krol will start a tour of the United States, Canada and Europe starting on September 4 with a free in-store performance at Strictly Discs in his hometown of Madison. New Englanders can catch Krol in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 1 at the Out Of The Blue Gallery, which should be a rad time that no one should miss. Until then, hit up your friendly neighborhood record store or log on to your favorite (legal) music download website and get a copy of Turkey. You’ll start twisting the time away when you give it a listen.

Stream & purchase Turkey here: mergerecords.com/songmgr/radio.php?album=70676

Mike Krol’s page on Merge Records’ Website: mergerecords.com/mike-krol