Madcap Canadian Mac DeMarco is back with LP proper number two, ‘Salad Days’, on which he overlays the deceptively complex slacker-rock of his debut (actually titled ‘2’, to be awkward) with shimmering psychedelic flourishes.
‘Salad Days’ is an endearingly odd album, at times like a lucid dream in which you’re swimming through a muddied haze of dazzling colours. ‘Passing Out Pieces’ (audio below) and ‘Brother’ exemplify his brilliantly bizarre approach to songcraft.
The lazy melodies, off-kilter vocals and haphazard, plaintive strumming all converge to produce a record of fragmented brilliance. Ultimately, ‘Salad Days’ is an aural testament to the old adage that there’s a fine line between genius and insanity.
8/10
Words: Benji Taylor
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Related: read our interview with Mac from 2013. (Warning: contains pubes.)
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Stream ‘Salad Days’ in full on Deezer…
