Biography
Mike Krol brings a garage rock revival approach laced with biting wit to his high-energy, distortion-heavy rock songs, where thick layers of buzzing guitars frame narratives drawn from everyday existence that shift between laugh-out-loud funny and starkly confessional. Starting as a purely independent creator, he put out two stripped-down releases, I Hate Jazz and Trust Fund, whose raw and unruly character built him a devoted underground audience. That attention prompted indie imprint Merge to offer him a contract, yet the improved resources behind 2015’s Turkey and 2019’s Power Chords left their ragged ingenuity intact.
Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Krol first sat behind his older brother’s drum set at age seven and later performed percussion in his school ensemble. During high school he borrowed an electric guitar from a classmate and developed a self-taught technique that favored raw power over technical polish. Drawing from an array of pop, punk, and indie acts that stretched from the Ramones, the Kinks, and Cheap Trick to Superchunk, Guided by Voices, and Weezer, he started composing material and performing with assorted groups while shuttling between the Midwest and East Coast and holding a series of ordinary jobs. He eventually relocated to the West Coast, where he worked days as a graphic designer whose clients included Icarus Himself and Sleeping in the Aviary. Michael Sienkowski, the drummer for Sleeping in the Aviary, contributed part-time to Krol’s project and played on the 2011 debut EP I Hate Jazz, issued by Counter Counter Culture and largely performed by Krol alone; the same label released the LP Trust Fund in 2013.
Once Trust Fund appeared, a small circle of listeners and writers began to take notice, leading Merge to sign Krol and issue Turkey in 2015. A worldwide tour ensued, with Krol supported by musicians from Tickle Torture, Sleeping in the Aviary, and They Live Exclamation Point. In 2017 Merge put out the anthology Mike Krol Is Never Dead: The First Two Records, which combined tracks from I Hate Jazz and Trust Fund with several demos and unreleased cuts. January 2019 brought another surge of clever yet anxious garage punk on Power Chords.
Raised in Madison, Wisconsin, Krol first sat behind his older brother’s drum set at age seven and later performed percussion in his school ensemble. During high school he borrowed an electric guitar from a classmate and developed a self-taught technique that favored raw power over technical polish. Drawing from an array of pop, punk, and indie acts that stretched from the Ramones, the Kinks, and Cheap Trick to Superchunk, Guided by Voices, and Weezer, he started composing material and performing with assorted groups while shuttling between the Midwest and East Coast and holding a series of ordinary jobs. He eventually relocated to the West Coast, where he worked days as a graphic designer whose clients included Icarus Himself and Sleeping in the Aviary. Michael Sienkowski, the drummer for Sleeping in the Aviary, contributed part-time to Krol’s project and played on the 2011 debut EP I Hate Jazz, issued by Counter Counter Culture and largely performed by Krol alone; the same label released the LP Trust Fund in 2013.
Once Trust Fund appeared, a small circle of listeners and writers began to take notice, leading Merge to sign Krol and issue Turkey in 2015. A worldwide tour ensued, with Krol supported by musicians from Tickle Torture, Sleeping in the Aviary, and They Live Exclamation Point. In 2017 Merge put out the anthology Mike Krol Is Never Dead: The First Two Records, which combined tracks from I Hate Jazz and Trust Fund with several demos and unreleased cuts. January 2019 brought another surge of clever yet anxious garage punk on Power Chords.
Albums
Therapy
2024
Power Chords
2019
Mike Krol Is Never Dead: The First Two Records
2017
Turkey
2015
Trust Fund
2013
I Hate Jazz
2011
Singles
