Mac DeMarco - 2
Critic Score
Based on 19 reviews
2012 Ratings: #282 / 1118
User Score
2012 Rank: #126
Liked by 249 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

85
Beats Per Minute

Free of any hip genre-signifiers, 2 sees DeMarco find his home in an endless jangle, humming down the Main Street of your brain with a guitar slung over his shoulder.

82
Pitchfork

He's still not entirely upfront, but he has a knack for building songs where the realness of his subject matter lies just below the surface. 

80
musicOMH

There is something unique about Mac DeMarco in 2012, his sound is very traditional in both form and style but there is a very refreshing quality at the heart of 2.

80
NME

What '2' makes clear, quickly, is that DeMarco is a skilful songwriter.

80
No Ripcord

Compared to Rock and Roll Night Club, 2 is a more polished and refined take on his brand of minimalist rock, structured around his keen songwriting.

80
Uncut

As it is, DeMarco shape-shifts with impunity; 2 deals in lugubrious late-night lyricism, and equals Kurt Vile and Cass McCombs for warmly melodic meanderings that beguile rather than baffle.

80
The Fly
Mac DeMarco seems plenty cocksure. There’s a self-assured streak that keeps the 22-year-old Canadian’s second album on an even keel throughout.
80
Time Out London

The whole thing is breezy and effortless – just pretty little nuggets of melody and ennui.

80
The Line of Best Fit

In an era of indie rock that’s very much about mixing and matching precisely chosen influences, there’s some thrilling about the way Mac DeMarco’s best work sounds like no one but Mac DeMarco.

80
Exclaim!

Mac DeMarco may assume a trashy façade, but beneath that lies a genuinely talented songwriter who writes what he knows and keeps us entertained while he does it.

70
Spectrum Culture

2 just goes down easy, even if DeMarco makes the emotional life of a young man in Montreal sometimes seem kind of rough in its listless sort of way ... These are songs that sound natural, and warm, and a little disheveled, but are also full of life.

70
The 405

Every song is fascinating in that no matter how much the meaning of each track seems obvious, there will be something new to consider or understand after every listen.

70
Consequence of Sound

He owns these songs of slackerhood completely, delivering a lean collection of 11 that concisely communicate the nature of the 20-something daydreamer – no more, no less.

70
AllMusic

DeMarco is still a befuddling character, but the compressed landscape of 2 takes steps away from his cartoonish beginnings toward something equally strange, but possibly more grown up.

65
Prefix
At this point, he’s just a dude trying out ideas in a bedroom, but once he figures out how to marry that rock and roll danger with his breezy melodies, he’ll be cooking up something for sure.
60
DIY

It angers and delights in equal measures, and without the try-hard imagery the record wouldn’t stand out quite as much.

60
The Guardian

It manages to sound refreshing, perhaps because the ground covered here is so far off rock's current beaten track.

60
The Needle Drop
Ex-Makeout Videotape frontman Mac DeMarco drops his second full-length album this year, which features a much more free-spirited personality than his solo debut earlier this year.
PipePanic
88

This album reminds me of home.

In New Zealand, at lest with my family and friends, one of the highlights of any get together or meeting or hangout or whatever is the 'Beach BBQ'. This is a pretty self explanatory, it's just a good ole BBQ that we happen to have on the beach. It's not a complicated thing to wrap your head around, yet there is this specific vibe to the whole event that I've never pinned down. It's an extremely wholesome event, with good food, great company and a lovely vibe. But ... read more

Blyizz
85

Recorded and released in 2012, ‘2’ is the debut album by the Canadian singer-songwriter, Mac DeMarco. Though the album was slow to reach its eventual stardom, 2 was quickly an album to be heavily praised by critics. 2 is an album that I personally had never truly enjoyed up until very recently. The slower melancholic singing and the overall soft atmosphere of the record used to have me push it off as boring or lifeless. However, I now see that these qualities are what makes 2 ... read more

Pickle
20

2/100

94

The best summer album of all time. Mac has had a huge influence in my life and I honestly wish every album could sound like this. Nothing beats his signature tone and voice, and blasting this album with the windows down is the only right way to do it.

banandafirst
95

nice and chill, which is definitely a good mix to the table I have here

Grumbo
80

This album is just opened up peak summer memories of visiting my cousin

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Added on: October 15, 2012