Mike Krol – Turkey

Judge Mike Krol as much for what he isn’t as for what he is. After eight blasts of searing fuzz-pop, this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it album switches gear to a sweetly reflective piano instrumental – which then abruptly ends with a mutter of “I didn’t sign up for this shit.” A chuckle follows, and the record promptly finishes. Neat.

As to what he is… well, he’s a snot-nosed kid who hit the wrong side of 30 and responded by kicking out some serious jams, motherfucker. This Is The News is a goofy, pedal-to-the-metal love song, all dumbass chords and irresistible velocity. He comes close to getting wistful on the yearning rush of Less Than Together, wherein a scarcely-specified figure from his past gets a belated goodbye, but ‘wistful’, frankly, is more of what Mike Krol isn't. So what is Turkey? It’s 18 minutes of stoopid, frantic, thrilling garage rock fun in the Jay Reatard mould. And frankly, it rules. [Will Fitzpatrick]