There are many confusing characters in the world of music today; and several of them are big names. In 2010, Lady Gaga went to MTV VMAs in a meat dress, Morrissey feels so strongly about his vegetarianism that he refuses to play shows in venues that serve meat and Sia “doesn’t want to be famous” so her face doesn’t appear on TV. Despite all of these odd people, Mac DeMarco, it could be argued, is the weirdest individual in music today. His musical output over the past few years ranges between daft and heart-felt, he divulges in transvestitism and nudity for the laughs and his demeanour on stage could be described as either pure genius or purely abhorrent (not to mention his obsession with cigarettes). With a polarising attitude towards work, cigarettes and music, Mac has managed to make a living for himself and ‘Kiki’ (his pet name for his girlfriend), by simply being himself: no gimmicks, façades or personae.
Since his first recorded works as ‘Makeout Videotape’, DeMarco has split public opinion. His track “Moving Like Mike”, from Rock and Roll Nightclub, featured on a TV promotion for US retailer Target and from then, he was signed to Captured Tracks. His début album, 2, was released in 2012 and on this record he wrote about the people/things he loves: Kiki, his parents, being weird and (most importantly) Viceroy brand cigarettes. The last in this list was the focus of “Ode to Viceroy”, a song that imbues personified characteristics upon his favourite smoke-able treats. His affection for the tubular death sticks is illustrated throughout – including the lyric “And oh baby, I’ll smoke you ‘til I’m dying” and the piece almost sounds as though he is serenading a lover. This track supports both arguments: he’s written a song about his love for cigarettes, but he’s written it incredibly well and if you didn’t know, it would almost seem as though he’s singing about a person. So: genius or weirdo? We still don’t know.
Next, we move onto “Still Together”; Mac’s attempt at a love song which features soulful lyrics and quasi-yodelling. Love songs have been written since music first included lyrics and it’s easy to see why: love could be considered the strongest positive feeling a person can experience. Everyone from Slipknot to Michael Jackson has written about love and so, it would seem that writing a love song would make Mac seem more ‘normal’. Think again. The aforementioned quasi-yodelling of the chorus “Togeeeeeeeeeeeether” is completely different from the ‘norm’ and this, coupled with his amusing performance of the track at the Polaris Music Prize show, shows that DeMarco is a quirky guy. Lyrically, the song is fairly middle-of-the-road, as far as content goes. Lines such as “In time she’ll see, that her an me, were meant to be together” show an aptitude for rhyme, flow and relatable words but the delivery of these lines could almost be construed as comical. This, again, doesn’t lean either way. His standing is, again, caught between “genius” and “cigarette loving weirdo”, so let’s move on…
DeMarco’s song-writing is of an unquestionably superior level. His ability to fuse the jangle pop of his guitar with the lyrics he does, while formulating melodies that are as catchy as humanly possible displays Hawking-like intellect. His second album, Salad Days illustrates this perfectly with such songs as “Salad Days”, “Goodbye Weekend” and “Passing Out Pieces” being as infectious as “Wannabe” by The Spice Girls (admit it, you’re hearing it now). His lyrics can also be fairly poetic as displayed by lines such as “As I’m getting older, chip up on my shoulder / Rolling through life, to roll over and die” and “When I’m down, you’re always the first on my mind / Skipping town, let’s get out and see what we find”. This led to Mac being short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize and him sharing this novelty with the likes of musical heavyweights Arcade Fire and Drake. Some may opine that he was punching above his weight, but really, as far as song-writing goes, he was their peer. This leans towards the “genius” side of this debate and it truly shows that Mac DeMarco is a talented 25 year-old.
Then we get to the man himself. A simple Google Images search will inform you that this guy is strange, his live shows will corroborate this and the music video below will solidify this as fact. If Mac DeMarco could be cut, clean in two, it would be found that there would be equal parts “genius” and “cigarette-obsessed weirdo” present throughout his body but what is undeniable is that his music is incredibly well put together, carried out and formed on a minimal budget. The man records everything in his apartment in Queens, New York and tours relentlessly. In order to carry this out, while pretending to be someone you’re not would be a harrowing experience and so, Mac’s endearing weirdness is seen as a virtue, not a character flaw.
In short, Mac DeMarco is a genius AND a weirdo and this is where he thrives. His weirdness informs his ability to record his music, write great songs and put his own spin on the genre of jangle pop. His live shows thrill everyone who shows up, his showtime antics endear him to listeners and he manages to do all of this while being himself (there’s no persona that he puts on when he steps into the spotlight). His next music release, Another One, will be out on 7th August 2015 and it’s clearly something worth looking forward to…
Genre: Jangle Pop / Surf Rock
Previous Works: Rock and Roll Nightclub (2012), 2 (2012) and Salad Days (2014)
Contemporaries: DIIV, Homeshake and Real Estate
Influences: Steely Dan, Beach Boys and The Beatles
You can download Salad Days on iTunes here or buy it on vinyl or CD from Amazon here.
