Last April marked the one-year anniversary of Canadian artist Mac DeMarco’s third studio album Salad Days.
DeMarco is a native Canadian, born in British Columbia but raised in Edmonton, Alberta. After moving to Vancouver in 2008, DeMarco began working on Heat Wave, a self-produced lo-fi album released in 2009 with DeMarco going by the name “Makeout Videotape.”
DeMarco’s music is carefree and playful, self-described as “jizz-jazz.” His jangly guitar chords and laid-back sound show up on almost every song. DeMarco’s shows are equally playful although often not in as PG of a manner. DeMarco and the band joke with the crowd, dance around and sometimes lose their clothes.
Rock and Roll Night Club is DeMarco’s first album released under his own name which was released on January 4, 2012. Following that album was 2, which DeMarco recorded under Captured Tracks label while in his underwear in his Montreal apartment. 2 further distinguished DeMarco’s style of music and songwriting into his own genre. The album also garnered him attention from multiple magazines including a “Best New Music” distinction by Pitchfork. “Ode to Viceroy” from 2 is DeMarco’s ode to his go-to cheap brand of Canadian cigarettes which he missed after moving to Brooklyn.
Salad Days has reached its first birthday this April Fools, and has received the same critical acclaim as 2, receiving yet another “Best New Music” from Pitchfork. While Salad Days kept many classic Mac DeMarco sounds, he also ventured into more analog electronic sounds using synthesizers on songs like “Chamber of Reflection” and “Passing Out Pieces” (Warning: Explicit language, violence, severed fingers and Mac Demarco in a bathtub full of salad).
DeMarco is about to begin touring internationally, beginning in the United States, a brief trip to Canada, and finishing in Europe. Fans speak highly of DeMarco’s shows, not only because of the music, but the entertainment he and the band provide with their strange and often perverse comedy.
On March 31, 2015, DeMarco made a rare appearance on late night television when he played on Conan. Below is a video of Mac Demarco performing “Let Her Go”.
