Mac DeMarco is not cross-dressing for his new album’s cover photo, instead opting for an oversized plaid shirt while he grins, holds a cigarette and does the peace sign. This dressing down is reflected in 2’s earthy, guitar-driven sound, one which echoes the second half of his debut solo recording, Rock And Roll Nightclub. While there’s an absence of lower register vocals and glam-pop pastiche, a healthy dose of weirdness still prevails.
Opening track Cooking Up Something Good starts as a nostalgic ‘70s-style number, recalling a suburban setting where DeMarco’s mother is cooking in the kitchen. But soon enough a sadder, stranger chorus creeps in, the pitch-shifting guitar adds a woozy feel and mum’s kitchen duties are replaced with dad cooking up ‘something’ in the basement. More tales of growing up are revealed in the apology-of-sorts for bratty behaviour, Freaking Out The Neighborhood, while dreams of escaping his hometown are explored in The Stars Keep On Calling My Name. There’s a raw honesty here that was absent from DeMarco’s previous work and it’s a welcoming new element that boosts the appeal of this new collection. He reserves most of his adoration for cigarettes (on Ode To Viceroy), though he opens up later on in the album with direct love song My Kind of Woman and romantic closer, Still Together. It’s hard not to fall for this lovable rogue.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Cooking Up Something Good
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Bored Nothing BORED NOTHING, The Modern Lovers THE MODERN LOVERS
In A Word: Endearing
