AOTY #15: Mac DeMarco - Salad Days

My salad days
When I was green in judgment: cold in blood
To say as I said then!
- Cleopatra, Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1 Scene 5
Mac DeMarco is a slacker, so the conventional wisdom goes. If you’d only read about Mac, you’d think he splits the difference between Jez Usbourne and Cletus Spuckler, then throws in a bit of Canadian goodwill and a hint of Nick Drake

That’s a load of rubbish

Yes, he chooses some weird songs to cover. Yes, he has admitted that his subject matter is sometimes banal. Yes, his arrangements on Salad Days are more simplistic than ever. To top it all, DeMarco seems to revel in and even actively cultivate this “slacker” persona

Despite all that, you simply don’t get this good without some hard graft. DeMarco’s skill on the guitar, his excellent ear for melody and his imaginative range of bluesy guitar licks betray many hours of practice. His songwriting has also improved since his last album, 2, even if the stripped-down arrangements aren’t to everyone’s taste

The backdrop of the album is Mac’s attempt to move from Toronto to New York. Moving to a new city is hard enough at the best of times, but Mac’s girlfriend felt the full force of the USA’s draconian border control that makes legal migration very difficult for ordinary people. Her struggle for a visa and the threat of deportation inspired “Let My Baby Stay”:

And she’s been good to me
Far as I can tell she’s happy, livin’ with her Macky
So please don’t take my love away
Let my baby stay, let my baby stay
The major lyrical theme of “Salad Days” is advice. Mac is happy to dole it out – “grow up”, “don’t be a dick to your girl”, and “be honest” are all fairly uncontroversial suggestions. He’s less happy about receiving advice, such as when his mother tells him to act his age and then some, and indeed he dedicates “Goodbye Weekend” to telling people where to stick it:

So don't go telling me how this boy should be leading
His own life
Sometimes rough but generally speaking I'm fine
If you don't agree with the things that go on within my life
Well, honey, that's fine just know that you're wasting your time
In fairness, Mac’s no hypocrite, telling people that they’re free to reject any advice he offers, too. Regardless, this sets him up as someone capable of giving valuable advice, but with little use for other people’s insights. He’s touring to huge crowds, he’s making great music, and he’s dealing with upheaval in his home life. If Mac DeMarco is a slacker, what does that make us?

Come back tomorrow for album #14 and follow along with the list here!