In a not-so-secret message at the end of his 2015 mini-album
Another One
,
Mac DeMarco
offers up his home address in Far Rockaway, New York, inviting listeners to "Stop on by, I'll make you a cup of coffee." Four albums into his relatively young career, the transplanted Canadian has already earned a playfully eccentric reputation that mirrors his unconventional musical style. As admired for his oddball antics (homemade videos wearing
Michael Jackson
and Homer Simpson masks, holding a contest for fans whose prize is $0.69 from his bank account, that invitation for coffee) as for his laid-back songcraft,
DeMarco
has become an unexpected indie hero with his own highly recognizable sound. Beginning with 2012's
Rock & Roll Nightclub
, each release has been an improvement on its predecessor, with 2014's
Salad Days
landing atop many critic's year-end lists. Wasting little time on his follow-up,
quickly wrote and assembled this eight-song effort at his home on the southern shores of New York's Jamaica Bay in Queens. A loosely themed concept album about love, with each song exploring a different emotion (longing, jealousy, frustration, joy),
bears the distinctive hallmarks that have, so far, come to signify a
release. The unique, heavily-chorused guitar tone and the laid-back grooves rooted in '70s soft rock support gently catchy melodies with intelligent lyrics that nimbly tread the line between heartfelt and wry. Musically, it's no great departure from the world he created on
, but there's a feeling of listening in on an artist who is just coming into the peak of his powers, and the creative spirit behind these subtly charming songs is immediately apparent. As a collection
hangs together quite well with the wobbly, synth-led title cut and the warm pop groove of the marvelous "No Other Heart" making for two of the album's biggest standouts. Befitting the record's amorous themes,
's overall tone here is sweeter and more tender than before, even on more lighthearted fare like the frisky faux yacht rocker "Just to Put Me Down," where he flexes a bit of
Jerry Garcia
-inspired guitar muscle. The half-smirking irony that many critics have accused him of feels further distanced here as he continues to explore his capabilities as a songwriter and player. On the final track, he pairs a lonesome, dark-toned synth against a backdrop of waves lapping at his rocky shoreline in what feels a bit like an instrumental love song to a place and time. It feels ephemeral and so, perhaps, is
's tenure in the watery little house where this music was made. This beguiling little album is another feather in
's baseball cap, and will live on in his growing catalog, but you might want to head over to Queens for that cup of coffee before it's too late. ~ Timothy Monger