The second full-length album from Indie Prince, Mac DeMarco demonstrated every aspect of his previously witnessed brilliance, while expanding his discography with diversity and personality. 

Following his shaky debut on Rock And Roll Night Club (2012) a predecessor to a much more direct and polished 2 (2013), DeMarco had set his expectations high for Salad Days. Indeed, these expectations were met and exceeded, developing into a quintessential hipster anthem. With an inherent quirkiness, DeMarco launches himself into a persona loved by all. 

The bar is set exceedingly high to begin, with the first few seconds of the album, contained in the title track, being some of the best we’ve seen in his discography even to this day. He cheekily undercuts any worries stated in the lyrics that despite the fact he’s “getting older”, he is still miles away from any aspect of this becoming an issue. This is then followed by the colourful “blue boy” where he advise his audience to “calm down” and stop worrying about their haircuts, a somewhat illusive but comedic issue. The misty and gloomy “brother” warns us to stop resisting change and take a chance in life- and ultimately take Mac’s advice to  “take it slow”. 

The tone is changed in “Let her go”, a track which was apparently forced out of Mac in his label’s attempt for an upbeat single. Despite this, we are still taken on a thrilling journey of dreamy and somewhat oddly sophisticated advice that it’s sometimes best to just “let her go”, but really, “it’s up to you” as he quickly and quietly scurries out towards the conclusion of the song. Speaking of tonal changes, no other tracks compare to “Let my baby stay” the solemn anthem for the romantics, where DeMarco pleads for his love to never go away. No doubt a song of hope for many. 

It would be a crime to not discuss the fan favourite track on this LP: “Chamber of reflection”, where Demarco delves deep into atmospherical synths, eloquently soaking in the cracks of the song to create a deep and gloomy track, apt for the lonely bedroom. This track, sampled from Japanese jazz artists Shigeo Sekito, was inspired by the impacts on Mac’s mental health during the writing of the album, embodying his true emotions towards his life and the LP. He describes the “chamber” as a meditation room, where one reflects on their life and moves on, something that is undoubtedly a clear trend throughout this album. Mac describes this as one of his most personal works yet, and questions if anyone will truly be able to understand what he’s trying to say. Nonetheless, it’s a DeMarco classic. 

The album continues to demonstrate its versatility on “Passing Out Pieces”, which is complemented with subtle snares and heavy organs flooding the introspective track. On “Goodbye Weekend” Mac addresses his haters, assuring them that they’re “wasting” their time, dismissing their so called advice to how he should live his life. This LP is endlessly consistent, containing countless spectacles of brilliance in each track. 

The album ends fittingly too, with undoubtedly countless hours in the studio spent perfecting each line and riff, he simply thanks us for listening and signs of with a “buh-bye”. It is this quirkiness which attracts us to his music, and it is this that will continue to urge us to tune in time and time again.  

9.1/10

Written by Jack Crowe