Mikal Cronin / Shannon and the Clams / Strychnine

MIKAL CRONIN's Merge debut, MCII, will be released on May 7, and while his self-titled debut, released on Chicago's own Trouble In Mind, from 2011 was all about endings – the end of college, the end of a serious relationship, and the end of his time in Los Angeles, where he grew up – it’s no surprise that his sophomore release MCII is all about new beginnings. Known as the bassist in TY SEGALL’s band and recorded in late 2012 in his newly adopted home of San Francisco, the new record’s sophisticated, fuzzy power-pop features several guest appearances and is all over the map. A remarkably gifted songwriter and uber-talented musician, CRONIN played all of the instruments on the album and has said the new record “sounds kind of schizophrenic,” which is good enough for us. SHANNON AND THE CLAMS return for their first play at the Bottle since opening for SHANNON’s other band, HUNX AND HIS PUNX, in early 2011. The band’s new record, Dreams in the Rat House, comes out on Hardly Art at the end of May and it’s a real banger, traveling through time and space, traversing rock and pop history in all its various forms. From slow ballads to rockin’ bomp and punk and country and psych, SHANNON AND THE CLAMS are carving out their place in the busy “garage-rock” underbelly and we’re stoked to have them join such a stellar bill. Chicago's STRYCHNINE opens the show with their stripped down aesthetic that combines elements of glam, garage, surf and post punk, feeding as much off classic pop songwriting as they do psychedelic riffing and extended jamming. The band’s lo-fi aesthetic is amped up in a live setting but remains  dirty and raw in all the best places – they’ve just released a new tape so be sure to grab it on your way out.

(BV Chicago) (Frontier Psych) (MXDWN) (NPR) (Pitchfork) (SPIN)