Mac DeMarco: Artist You Should Know

Photograph by Laura-Lynn Petrick

lauralynnpetrick.com

When I first heard of 22 year old Canadian slack rocker Mac DeMarco, a couple of Philly record shop clerks were discussing a recent live show where he stole the show from the headliner.

As they kept discussing DeMarco’s awesomely unpredictable show, they mentioned how they’d loved his first EP but weren’t blown away by his debut full-length “2,” but that somehow over the course of it’s release the album had become their most consistently played in-store record and by proxy one of their favorites of the year.

It’s not hard to understand why it so easily became a favorite as DeMarco’s style has a super laid back jangle that recalls Pavement, Kurt Vile, and the Bay Area’s Part Time. The album has an lo-fi AM charm that marries the golden age of the soft rock 70s with an off-kilter vibe that shimmers with post-grunge stoner melodic weirdness.

With a grip of videos that indulge in an obvious interest in VHS oddness that’s made cult stars of Tim & Eric and TVCarnage, DeMarco seems to be mining the late 70s and early 80s as an investigation of an era he wished he could be nostalgic for, if only he’d been around for it.

When it’s all said and done it doesn’t matter as what he’s doing is still incredibly charming and unique…and the melodies and lyrics are the stuff of just getting up of your Hollywood friends couch at 2PM to go get a hot dog at the nearest 7/11 .

If we can bear to break this cold front and become Los Angeles again for a moment, 2 will make perfect sense.