'Salad Days'

Mac DeMarco’s second album couldn’t have come at a better time.

Just as warm weather finally seems to be in Bloomington to stay, the Canadian singer-songwriter has delivered an album full of lazy-yet-polished rock ’n’ roll. DeMarco is known for being a goofball on stage, but on “Salad Days” he sounds focused and elegant.

That’s not to say the album isn’t catchy and infectious. It takes the titular opener exactly 10 seconds to get to its wordless hook, and by then you’re ... well, you know. The energy continues on “Blue Boy” with a jaunty, whirling guitar riff. He mellows out
briefly on “Brother” with a cautionary tale.

DeMarco was forced to come up with “Let Her Go” when his label asked for an upbeat, late-night, TV-friendly single, which he’s still bitter about. He responded with a danceable jam complete with maracas and a beautiful, subtle hook. Whether or not he was mad about the song, it sounds authentic, and it’s one of the album’s best tracks.

DeMarco has also developed a guitar sound that’s truly his own on this album, with surf-rock tremolo and high chord voicings that stand out on every track.
Most of the songs are about three minutes, with only one of them longer than four. DeMarco says all he needs to say and nothing more in these short, concise pop songs.

Most of the album’s style draws influence from surf rock bands like Girls and Smith Westerns. But DeMarco has clearly also been listening to the psychedelia of Tame Impala. It comes through on lead single “Passing Out Pieces.” He mimics Tame Impala lead singer Kevin Parker’s coy, distorted falsetto near the end above the track’s fuzzy bassline and blaring vintage synths. It’s a song that could have fit right in on Tame Impala’s 2012 album “Lonerism.”

The second half shifts from the poppy hooks of the first few tracks to slightly extended tunes. DeMarco sings in airy tones and requires you to listen a little closer for the hooks. But he finishes strong with “Jonny’s Odyssey.” It’s an instrumental that sounds like it could be ska in its rhythm section-free intro until the drums and synth come in and it goes full-on psychedelic.

“Salad Days” will surely have lasting power through the summer. It might not have any one song that’s up to par with “Ode To Viceroy,” a fan favorite from his first full-length, “2.” But it’s absolutely his best LP so far.