Originally from Laguna Beach, California, Mikal Cronin's garage pop sound is influenced by indie rock of the '90s. He is known for collaborating with Ty Segall, who also appears on Cronin's recordings. After moving to San Francisco, Cronin recorded his second album. MCII is his first for the Merge Records label, and with a few exceptions (including a couple of guitar solos from Segall), Cronin played all of the instruments.