Mac Demarco | An Opener For Indie Kids
A prince from Duncan, British Columbia. It is no other than the star himself, Mac Demarco. Beloved by all skater boys and thrift shoppers in all countries. Also, the guys who smoke a pack of Marlboro Reds for a day (Hey, that’s me!). Truly he’s taken indie music to a different kind of level, listening to his music is like not giving a shit to anything. You just want to slack off, pull out a cigarette, and smoke the fuck out of it until you hit that point of no return, that’s where you became a Mac Demarco fan (Hey, I felt that!).
The story of his life becoming an indie goofball but yet a prince started from his project with his friend, Alex Calder. The project is called “Makeout Videotape” and they released their debut EP, Ying Yang in 2010. I listened to their EP, it’s quite catchy and quite the same with Mac’s album Rock And Roll Night Club, but it’s a bit messy and the irregular strum really bothers me, but other than that, it’s listenable.
Mac then ventures on himself, making a mini-album, called Rock And Roll Night Club in 2012. This is the beginning of Mac finding his sound, the distinct sound of his old rugged guitar, a simple bass notes and drum beats, and his deep down voice. It’s quite different from his next albums, but the point is this is where he became a new sensation amongst us, the Goodwill boys. Then comes the next album.
2, Mac’s debut album, it’s, it’s lit. I’m not trying to joke or something, but really, it’s well produced, the arrangement of the songs are perfect, the vocals and other instruments that he played, matches really well. And the thing is, all of his songs, we can relate to them, just mere love songs. It’s just pure love songs, but what’s different about the songs it’s the approach, he made the songs appear to be catchy, and made like it was a sing-along song. Songs such as My Kind Of Woman, Still Together, Dreaming, and my favorite, Ode To Viceroy. There are lots of other good songs in this album, that you should give listen to it. If you want to hear deeply and dying for some jingly jangly guitars, “jizz jazz” in Mac Demarconian term, get ready for the next album he releases.
This is Mac’s second album, it’s called Salad Days. This is my first exposure to Mac’s sound, this album. From what I can tell in my first experience, especially the song Let Her Go, the instant feeling that I get is that I went on a holiday to Hawaii, slacking off near a beach, with a coconut water by my side and a pack of Marlboro Reds. It’s not filled as hard as the previous album, but the elements of a Mac Demarco songs, a jangly guitar, a simple bass line, and drum beat, a finishing solo, and Mac’s lovely lyrics are still in the album itself. The album itself is soothing, it’s a perfect album if you don’t want to do anything for a day and just wanna slack off or daydream for the whole day, that’s a perfect way. I listened to the album for studying and kinds of stuff, and in the end, I lost that energy of studying and finally have a nap. That’s how lazy you’ll feel.
Each of his album starting from 2 until the latest one, This Old Dog, it’s changing. From the very start filled with his crude instruments that are played roughly and with an upbeat tempo, into more soothing sounds of gentle strumming guitar and slow tempo, more to easy listening albums after Rock And Roll Night Club and 2.
Among all Mac’s album, this one’s my favorite. Why? This album is probably the most chill, easy listening album out of all Mac’s album, at least for me. Probably also because of this particular track that hits me the most, the title track, Another One. Other songs such as No Other Heart, Without Me, and The Way You’d Love Her, is also my favorite tracks in the album.
From this point, I can see that Mac’s is heading to more chill and slow direction of him producing his music. From filled with guitars, into pianos, well the guitars are not entirely gone, but with the combination of pianos and slow tempos in each song, his songs are more accessible and good to listen, at least for us Marlboro boys, or Viceroy boys.
His latest album, This Old Dog, is a whole new different level. This time his taken the approach into a more acoustic, pianos, and synthesizers. An easy listening album filled with slow tempo and deeper lyrics, mostly tells about his life and his relationship with his family, especially with his dad. It’s completely different from his debut album, 2. I feel through the production of his music where he’s taken a slow approach, he managed to convey the message behind the songs or the album itself. I feel emotional and touched by his music direction and the message he gave to us. It’s nice and best for accompanying the nights.
I guess through these years of him making music, the last album is probably less approachable than the other albums he produced. As the title itself says, “An Opener For Indie Kids”. Why did I say that? How can I be so sure that other people who have the music taste as mine, are able to listen to his music? Well, one thing for sure, it’s a matter of taste. I think his first two albums are more approachable and easy to listen. I’ve done some experiment myself, by poisoning my friends to listen to Salad Days. And the result, they actually liked it. I legit astounded by, how come they liked it? Truly I’m happy with my attempt with recommending Mac’s songs to my friends. But that’s not all, almost all my friends have listened to Mac’s songs, without me telling them. High school friends and College friends, some of them all listened to it, not all his songs, but some recognizable songs, particularly, My Kind Of Woman.
Another thing is, his songs are reachable to people. What I’m saying is I can relate to some of his songs, like Ode To Viceroy, my dying love for, in this case, Marlboro Reds, and Another One, “It must be another one she loves”. That’s his trademark, reachable, although there are some artists can be approachable, but his way of delivering it, the songs, are different. Truly, Ode To Viceroy is made like a happy-go-lucky song, even though my fear of dying still surrounds me. The point is, again, I believe with his usage of jangly sounds from his guitar and the easy tempo beat, give his music an easy listening to people, unlike other music artists, his way of approaching people for liking his music, is very simple.
I think that’s his selling point, that’s his uniqueness. I can say that’s his way to reach us teenagers or adults, and I can say why he’s a great starter for you guys who look for some chill music to study, waiting in the bus stop, or laying down in the middle of the night, with a cigarette in between your fingers.