With songs touching on themes of maturation, life in the public eye, and good old-fashioned romance, DeMarco has trimmed the fat both musically and conceptually on Salad Days, turning in a streamlined picture of his musical development.
Though DeMarco certainly hasn’t ditched his slacker aesthetic, Salad Days is nonetheless a strikingly mature achievement for the 23-year-old.
This is an LP combining the pop artist’s unashamed desire to occupy your head all day long and the storyteller’s authenticity, with astounding, electrifying skill.
Mac DeMarco might be the wild and crazy showman on stage, but Salad Days shows there's plenty of tenderness behind that shit-eating, gap-toothed grin.
The guitar sounds throughout Salad Days are pristine, the lyrics sublime and the vocals… the Lennon-isms are often befuddling but they can only be applauded.
Sweet, soulful little man that he is, Mac knows better than to let his bellyaching get in the way of everyone else's good time — instead, he’s simply dialled down the quirk and written his best record yet.
His second full-length, Salad Days, isn’t a departure from its predecessor so much as a richer, increasingly assured refinement. For all its internal contradictions, Salad Days is no more or less than a great album in a tradition of no-big-deal great albums.
The results are a wistful, free-wheeling and intimate snapshot of DeMarco's psyche-an album that is more complex than you might assume, but more rewarding for it.
For all the pomp and circumstance preceding Salad Days, this is still an album that DeMarco recorded in his Brooklyn walkup. It’s a record that boasts glaring maturity without diminishing the iconic immaturity.
Salad Days isn't the stuff of mainstream success, but it strongly suggests his cult is only going to get bigger.
The lazy melodies, off-kilter vocals and haphazard, plaintive strumming all converge to produce a record of fragmented brilliance.
The romantic in De Marco is now very much a presence in his life, far from it being a farce, and adroitly balances those feelings of solitude and intimacy by clasping dearly to the everyday proportions that make his life complete.
His patron saints appear to be Harry Nilsson and yacht rockers like 10cc, and rarely are either channeled with this little cheese and this much panache. He merges these influences with what's quickly become his signature guitar sound, an effortless style that can be playfully discordant.
The songs only sound sleeker, more melodic, more intensely stoned. That's DeMarco in sum, and thankfully he's not retreating into his shell just yet.
The record also proves that maturity does not mean creative death – this is complete album and in many ways his best.
Salad Days loses a lot of the patently ridiculous persona that DeMarco has put so earnestly into his previous releases. In itself, it’s not a terrible loss, because the end result is a high-polish pop album that is more cohesive than any of his older work.
He uses humor and bemused detachment to hint at a deeper pathos he can’t (or won’t) articulate in his oft-beautiful, always slippery songs.
Salad Days is packed with wry, knowing lyrics and washed-out vocals, like a meeting of Stephen Malkmus and Marc Bolan.
The progression that Salad Days shows is encouraging, even if the album starts to peter out at the end.
This is art that is confidently immature, and it begs the question: why can’t sophomoric art still be great?
It’s a half-baked portrait of a creative personality rung dry and yet still yearning for something new. It’s rare to see an identity crisis like this so early in the career of a promising artist, but DeMarco doesn’t spend time wallowing.
The chord changes aren’t as sharp, the melodies not as direct, the lyrics not as catchy. By the end you almost feel as tired as him. He still has an incredible ear for a melody, it’s just not as fun as it used to be.
I have someone in my school who loves rock music (he a mainstreamed tho, like he love Queen and Guns n Roses...), and I used to hate on him because he was so crazy about it. But now after listening to a good amount of rock/punk album, I can say that some are pretty amazing.
Ok so, on the first day of school, I told him "Rock music is good", and be told "I don't like rock music anymore". So I asked then "ok, then what do you like?" And this nibba says "Indie ... read more
The 2010s had a lot of great indie music but this isn't one for me. For it just being 11 songs and 34 songs it was a slog to get through because the ideas are just so derivative and predictable that it was so easy for dozens of artists to copy for the next decade to come. Sure there are things going for this album since the production isn't that bad but damn the songs are forgettable as hell.
An instant album
Mac absolutely delivers with the sequel to one of my favorite albums of all time, with a project that's eyecatching and fun at every moment, and that also serves as the turning point in his career.
I really like this album, and I swear, it's one of the most enjoyable albums I've ever listened to. Mac decides to make an album that tackles themes he lived through while making the album and also continues making amazing instrumentals and guitar riffs, while also experimenting ... read more
its catchy and mac's vibe is as clear as its ever been. i think after hearing some of the stuff this album is derived from ive lost some enjoyment but its alright cause i still find it good. lots of catchy sections and easy going sounds.
Another helping of Mac DeMarco's sweet and occasionally psychedelic indie pop songs, although it could definitely use a bit more variation.
Top Tracks: Blue Boy, Brother, Let Her Go, Treat Her Better, Chamber of Reflection
Bottom Tracks: Jonny's Odyssey
1 | Salad Days 2:25 | 92 |
2 | Blue Boy 2:06 | 88 |
3 | Brother 3:32 | 88 |
4 | Let Her Go 3:02 | 86 |
5 | Goodbye Weekend 2:59 | 85 |
6 | Let My Baby Stay 4:08 | 79 |
7 | Passing Out Pieces 2:47 | 88 |
8 | Treat Her Better 3:49 | 85 |
9 | Chamber of Reflection 3:51 | 96 |
10 | Go Easy 3:24 | 83 |
11 | Jonny's Odyssey 2:38 | 79 |
#2 | / | NME |
#5 | / | Entertainment Weekly |
#5 | / | FasterLouder |
#5 | / | Slant Magazine |
#9 | / | Rolling Stone |
#11 | / | The Guardian |
#11 | / | Time Out New York |
#11 | / | Under the Radar |
#12 | / | Pitchfork |
#13 | / | Dazed |