Mac DeMarco’s third release is a beautiful progression from the up-beat, toe tapper ‘2’. ‘Salad Days’, on the whole, is way more laid-back, without losing any of its ability to make you want to boogie. There is something very romantic about this album, it is something you can really fall in love with. Tracks like Let My Baby Stay seducing you into a genuinely heart-warming trance.
Whilst Mac‘s second album ‘2’ got his following all hot and bothered, ‘Salad Days’ goes all the way and finishes them off, with over half an hour of smooth aural love-making.
Let Her Go strums sunshine out of your speakers. I am genuinley convinced that if Buddy Holly hadn’t died in the plane wreck, he would have written this song. It has all the flavour of a 50’s love song and all the lyrical wisdom of Mr De Marco’s outlook on modern life. Mac gives simple and completely true-to-life advice, and although it does come across as blindingly obvious, it is advice that shouldn’t be ignored.
The title track Salad Days, opens the album with a burst of energy, and is the type of track that just ends too soon. As with many of the songs off this album, Salad Days is crammed with Mac’s unique character. From his cutesy vocal delivery to an almost out of tune whaling that you honestly can’t help but imitating now and again.
NB. As I write this I can’t help but feel this album perfectly compliments the half an hour preceding a sunset. I can just imagine now, how fitting this album would sound after a long day of doing nothing in the sun.
Blue Boy and Brother typify Mac’s consistent style, with the latter finishing with a dreamy-whaling that only this Canadian could pull off. These vocal lines are the type of thing heard in Still Together. If they were delivered by anyone else you would brand them a lunatic, but Mac DeMarco just makes it work.
Although many refer to Mac DeMarco’s fan base as a ‘cult following’, I would simply have to disagree. Mac‘s self proclaimed ‘Jizz Jazz’ style possesses such easy-listening qualities that every-and-anybody would enjoy his whole back catalogue.
‘Salad Days’ is released on April 1, and the UK stretch of his European tour starts on the May 19 at The Old Market in Brighton. You would be more than a fool to miss out on this.
You can buy tickets to see Mac DeMarco in Brighton here.
Words by Robb Hiscock
