Mac DeMarco

Since disbanding Makeout Videotape and going it alone, Edmonton/Vancouver-bred, Montreal-based singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco has made considerable progress with the groundwork his band laid out. Signing to Captured Tracks, he released the Rock and Roll Night Club mini-album earlier this year, which carried on the lo-fi crooning over some lip-smacking, hook-filled outsider pop and a fake radio show. For his solo debut album proper, he's dropped the glam shtick and adopted a much more blithe perspective of jangly, minimal rock'n'roll. But on 2, Mac keeps up the rebellious wiseass persona, apologizing to his mom on "Freaking Out the Neighbourhood" over effects pedals for a shaker that Ariel Pink might even nod to. He goes on to play defeatist by running away with his honey to a destination unknown on AM golden "The Stars Keep On Calling My Name" and a lovesick smoker, serenading his favourite brand, which he'll smoke till he dies, on the oddly tender "Ode to Viceroy." In boosting the production quality, which no longer sounds so perverse, Mac's also brought sincerity to his tunes while showcasing his delightfully warped guitar playing. 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.