Jackson Free Press

Alone in a room with his guitar, California singer-songwriter Mikal Cronin crafted the tracks that would make up his third studio album, "MCIII," which hit stores May 4, 2015. For listeners, the album might seem to be just the latest release in his series of self-titled albums, following 2011's "Mikal Cronin" and 2013's "MCII." But despite differences in the sound and material of his previous releases, Cronin says he sees "MCIII" as the continuation of a "journal of my 20s development."

"I felt like, thematically, this one ended up being very similar," Cronin says. "As I was writing this one, I saw the parallels with the second album in the themes. In a way, I kind of see them as three different chapters. (Based on the) subject matter, it seems like they could get together."

Growing up in Laguna Beach, Calif., Cronin was always involved with music. His mother, Susan Gardener, a classical piano and harp player, made sure that her son began piano lessons at a young age. Cronin continued to pursue music while enrolled at Laguna Beach High School, where he played saxophone in the band. After graduating, he decided to move to Portland, Ore., to attend Lewis & Clark College in 2004. But after almost two years of courses, Cronin chose to leave college and move home in 2006.

"I went through just this whole period of not knowing what I was doing in and with my life," Cronin says.

That period soon ended after he returned to Laguna Beach and his friends began asking him to work on some songs with them and play shows around town.

"I just sort of fell into it," he says. "I was writing music, and I was happy. My friends invited me to play some music together in my basement. After doing that for a little while, I realized that was what I was going to keep doing no matter what else I end up doing."

Almost 10 years later, Cronin is still doing just that, though these days, his company includes famous show mates such as Father John Misty and Death Cab for Cutie. His style is still evolving, as well, with elements like a separate story on the album's B-side and the inclusion of more exotic instrumentation. For example, he picked up a tzouras, a Greek string instrument, while on tour in Greece and found himself so intrigued with its non-traditional sound that he incorporated it into "MCIII."

"When I look back on and listen to these in 10 years, it will be the closest thing to any sort of journal of me just going through my 20s and figuring this out," Cronin says. "I like the numbers. I might break away from the numbers on this next one; I might not be able to. It's like, Led Zeppelin or Scott Walker or something."

Mikal Cronin performs at 9 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2, at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7121). The Cairo Gang also performs. Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 in advance at ardenland.net. For more information, visit mikalcronin.com.