Review Summary: "Hell of a story, or is it boring?"
My first encounter with Mac DeMarco was a sudden one. I had only seen pictures of Mac himself, and at first I found myself dismissing any possibility that he was anything other than a poser cashing in on the “chill” indie scene. I did a little research and found a slew of interviews and articles, and after delving into the very public life of Mac DeMarco, my fears were relinquished. I sought out his humble discography of two albums, and noticed the drastic difference between the two. His first album,
Rock and Roll Night Club, consisted of songs that seemed to sound the same despite the catchy riffs and choruses. With incredibly lo-fi sound and strange faux-David Bowie vocals for most of the album, I wasn’t quite sold upon first listen. But I decided to give it another go with his second album,
2. Within minutes I was almost overwhelmed by how exceedingly catchy this album was in comparison to its predecessor. No more lo-fi recording, Mac found his voice, and it proved to be a more upbeat, cohesive effort than
Rock and Roll Night Club.
With the release of
Salad Days, many people were under the impression that Mac had lost his touch. In general,
Salad Days is simply more laid back, somewhere in between the carefully thought out
2 and the utterly carefree
Rock and Roll Night Club. The tracks seem to be in no specific order and the songs are more calm, even when they’re filled with worry (i.e. “Blue Boy”). It is apparent here that Mac’s busy touring schedule and pressure to write new songs has had an effect on his music. However, this isn't to say that his creative process has been significantly hindered. In fact,
Salad Days seems to be a happy middle between his first two efforts.
The instrumentation on this album continues to intrigue, and Mac's vocals blend peacefully with the usual jangly jazz guitars and simplistic drum beats. As a multi-instrumentalist, Mac has stated that he has always been eager to make more tracks dedicated to the synthesizer. The resulting songs turned out to be among the strongest on the album, first with his anthem to the stress of his public life, "Passing out Pieces," and next on the eerie, outlandish tribute to Masonic ritual, "Chamber of Reflection." Although these songs are prominent, the main focus of the album is still Mac's beloved and commonly broken jazz guitar. The catchy riffs of
2 are still present, always layered with a rhythm guitar and mostly prominent on "Treat Her Better".
The main difference between
Salad Days and
2 can be seen by examining the third tracks on both respective albums. On
2, Mac's "Freaking Out the Neighborhood" confidently states that sometimes Mac gets a little out of hand (i.e. Shoving a drumstick in his bare ass at an early show). On
Salad Days, the lead single "Brother" is almost the polar opposite:
"Take it slowly, brother
Let it go, now brother"
This shows that not much has changed in terms of Mac's songwriting abilities, and, while the lyrics generally aren't incredibly profound or complex, they are honest. They certainly complete the task for which they were intended. Mac has stated in an interview that the best pop music has one-size-fits-all, audience relatable lyrics, and here, Mac seems to find a perfect balance. The lyrics are often very personal, yet still vague enough for Mac's fans to relate.
The album concludes on another instrumental track, "Johnny's Oddyssey", which seems to encompass everything present on the album and serves as an appropriate closer. After the song, we hear Mac thank us for listening, and that he will see us next time, almost as if he was doing a live show.
Overall, the album flows well despite the relaxed track listing, and very few weaknesses can be found apart from the glockenspiel laden "Let My Baby Stay", which is the same almost all the way through, but thrives lyrically.
Salad Days is an example of Mac's incredible devotion and ability to work under pressure. It's not the victim of a loss of quality as a result, just a different listening experience.
