San Francisco – The dulcet tones of Mac DeMarco’s gentle, cooling ballads continue this summer with Another One, the miniature follow-up to last year’s wonderfully successful Salad Days. Clocking in at just under a half-hour in runtime, Another One lies somewhere in the space between an LP and an EP, described by the Canadian-born musician as a “mini album,” and despite its short length, it is packed with the same brand of down-home guitar, mild percussion and plunky keystrokes that his audience have come to know over the past few years.
The mini-LP was written and recorded at DeMarco’s home in Queens within a period of just three weeks or so during a quiet period between tours. The title Another One may sound like a lazy attempt at saying, “Hey, here’s some more music,” but in fact it shares its name with the second track on the album, and the phrase is often repeated throughout the album’s eight tracks (most of which run barely three minutes). Much of the album boasts tones reminiscent of “Strawberry Fields Forever”-era John Lennon, with frumpy synths and tasteful reverb permeating DeMarco’s perfectly achy and tender vocals. Many of the tracks, including singles “Another One” and “The Way You’d Love Her,” paint pictures of a kind of ‘coulda/woulda/shoulda’ mentality, brilliantly describing the numbing pain of being powerless in situations of unrequited love, but he does so with such reassurance that it makes us feel like it’s OK to feel powerless at times, because maybe one day things will actually work out for the better. In “No Other Heart,” he shares that he wants the object of his affection to feel better about herself – perhaps by spending time with him instead – but respects that she may need time to sort things out.
The darker songs on the album come later on, as he vows his undying distrust for a certain lover in “A Heart Like Hers” and comes to terms with the turbulence of a current relationship with “Without Me” (much in the vain of Tame Impala’s “Eventually,” he’s saying she’d be better off without him) and “Just To Put Me Down.” “I’ve Been Waiting for Her” is a welcome break in the somewhat bleak territory this mini LP explores, as he sings the praises of the girl he has finally found, and quietly questions why he had wasted so much time in finding her.
The album ends with a short instrumental piece called “My House By The Water” played on a synthesizer mixed with the soothing sounds of waves lapping up on a shore. Just as you think the album is over, DeMarco’s voice comes in soft and low to give his listeners his actual home address, saying, ‘Stop on by, I’ll make you a cup of coffee. See you later!’ Apparently many have taken him up on his offer already, and I know I would too if I was on the East Coast. DeMarco is always a joy to listen to, and he continues to please us with his delightful and inviting brand of music, lovingly referred to as “jizz-jazz.” I bet he’s got a killer view, too.
Another One is now available on Captured Tracks. He is currently on a world tour, hitting some east coast cities before his appearance at FYF Fest later this month, and then he will be in Europe through September before wrapping up back in the US later this fall. For more info visit his Facebook page.
Corey Bell
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