The July 2014 7” Selection
LAMC Series No.11 (500 copy limited edition)
A-side Mikal Cronin – Soul in Motion b/w Wand – Screaming Eye
LAMC Series No.11

We picked this one up at the Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland. Both the artwork and the vinyl look extremely cool.  This split 45 was released by Famous Class as part of the Less Artists More Condos Series.

Mikal Cronin is a California based indie rocker who recently released his second solo album MCII (one of Dingo Vinyl’s favorite albums of 2013). Mikal’s music is a unique mix of melodic pop hooks with in your face guitar rock. In addition to his solo work.  Mikal has teamed up with Ty Segall for “Reverse Shark Attack” and is featured on several albums by Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees.

We saw Mikal’s live show at the Rickshaw Stop’s anniversary gig. While Mikal’s recorded music has a great balance between the pop melodies and the rock guitar sound, his live shows pack a lot more pure energy. Soul in Motion features Mikal’s melody pop to guitar rock structure and is as strong of an offering as any of the tracks off MCII. The song starts quite with a drum/synth intro building to the guitar rock chorus, eventually devolving into more straightforward punk.

Upcoming Mikal Cronin Shows

8/7 The Independent – San Francisco
8/8 Outside Lands – San Francisco

DingoVinyl will most likely be at the Independent show.  Let us know if you’re planning to make it out or if you would like to join us.

Wand is Victoria, BC musician Derek Janzen. Wand’s debut album, Mt. ST Helens, 2012. You can stream the album at wand.bandcamp.com and is currently working on the follow-up. Dingo Vinyl caught Wand live at the Burger Boogaloo festival in Oakland over the July 4th weekend. Early in their set you could hear heavy prog rock influences as the set went on the band built momentum and their sound developed rougher edges becoming more raw than the tighter prog rock start.  Screaming Eye fits well as the B-side to Mikal Cronin. Melodic vocals are contrasted with more noise than pop sounds as the chorus and bridge build to a sloppy climax. This single had a lot more noise and less of the prog influences that we heard when seeing the band live.

Their videos on Vimeo have an absurdist, Trailer Park Boys quality (the TV shows, not the movies), which is obviously high praise.

Upcoming Wand Shows
9/29 Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco
9/30 The Echo – Los Angeles