Mike Krol 
to tour the UK in support of
Power Chords out now
on Merge Records

Mike Krol will be coming to Europe next month in support of his latest Merge release, Power Chords. Deliriously infectious, Power Chords is an evolution in sound, structure and themes, serving as Krol’s boldest and longest record to date at 34 minutes. It’s hard-fought and hard-won, bloodied and bruised. And more importantly: defiant and triumphant.

Power Chords picks up where 2015’s Turkey left off. It traces Krol’s journey back to punk rock, harnessing both the guitar technique and the musical redemption referenced in its title. The record opens in a howling maelstrom of feedback: welcome to Krol’s crucible. After a stage-setting spoken-word intro (“I used to never understand the blues, until the night I met you. And every day since, I’ve gotten better at guitar”), we find ourselves back in familiar Krol territory—aggressive and assertive, scratchy and raw, catchy as hell—but something has changed. The sounds have a new density—and so do the stories. Krol’s lyrics have always walked a fine line between self-acceptance and self-destruction, but throughout Power Chords, they reveal a new sense of self-awareness. “Without a little drama I grow bored and sick of all my days,” he sings on “Little Drama,” and it’s just one revelatory moment on a record full of them.

Of course, none of this is to say that Krol has mellowed. You might find a mea culpa or two, but Mike Krol will never be chastened. If anything, he’s out more for revenge than forgiveness, and if he’s grown, it’s because he’s grown bolder. He’s wielding the same influences – Misfits, The Strokes, early Weezer, Ramones – but turning up the gravity and the gain. Indeed, Krol has gone somewhere new; yes, he bludgeoned himself with over-analysis and self-loathing, but along the way he stumbled upon a trove of intricate guitar lines and artfully mutating melodies.
 
Catch Krol on tour next month – UK Dates:

22nd April – London, The Social     
23rd April – Bristol, Crofters Rights
24th April – Manchester, The Castle
25th April – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
26th April – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
27th April – London, Hackney Wick Main Yard – Test Pressing Festival