MAC DEMARCO - 2

A lively schizoid character and unrepentant dreamer, the new-model Mac DeMarco has built himself around a caricature of himself. From the primordial sketches of the Makeout Videotape moniker and the first "Only You" video, to that provocative term "jizz jazz" used to describe his strumming.

The young Vancouverite thus lands on the roster of Captured Tracks, celebrating what could be described as an 80s imaginary squared off by an easy-listening sensibility rooted entirely in the 50s.

Having shed the lo-fi patina of the "Rock'n'Roll Night Club" EP, the Canadian turns into an irreverent storyteller, subverting the symbols of pop, alternative and mainstream and freeze-drying, within a standard thirty minutes, eleven sketches under the banner of a shimmering garage-pop, all while keeping in his pocket the holy cards of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, who blessed his debut. The (proto)punk verve of Jonathan Richman thus becomes, in Mac DeMarco's hands, the forefathers' blunt, coarse spirit, drawn here in equal measure from bouncing rhythms ("Freaking Out The Neighborhood") and listless ballads ("Ode to Viceroy").

Plain, simple normality. Our man focuses on jangly mid-tempo sketches, narrating episodes of ordinary daily life, at times steeped in an overall gloom ("You know when I'm lonely/ and honey I'm lonely/I'm going gown.", from "Annie"), at times handled with an ironic, amused touch when the subject turns to love. Barely sketched-out rhythms, bare, skeletal structures, but built around compressed, wah-like vocal warbles that add a touch of funkadelia ("The Stars Keep On Calling My Name" and "Cooking Up Something Good") to the "little songs".

Be careful though, never underestimate the power of nursery rhymes, those chains of words and primitive melody that stick to the brain like merciless tape: "2" is full of nursery rhymes and sing-song refrains, full of choruses and traditional melodies disfigured by engaging arrangements. And that's exactly why it works so well: it manages to satisfy both the part of the brain attentive to concepts like "quality" and "composition", and the gut that surrenders without reservation to rhythms and melodies.

Less of an auteur than labelmate Chris Cohen has shown himself to be, but more assertive in his "populist" impact - take the exquisite forthrightness of "Dreaming", as well as the fiery garage vein of "Robson Girl", both of which show just how good this kid is at balancing power and melody, tart indie-pop phrasing and gripping Velvet-esque alchemy.

Mac DeMarco knows how to write personal songs, he's wildly inspired, and he's a genuine force. An early, still-green Ariel Pink, but one who seems headed in the right direction.

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16/10/2012