Live In-Studio: Mac DeMarco

Mac DeMarco would lead you to believe that he's some kind of foolish, archetypal teen movie slacker: the torn clothes, the lingering stale scent of off-brand cigarettes, the irreverent sense of humor. But the 25-year-old is one of the hardest working musicians today. "Another One," a self-described "mini-LP" which DeMarco self-recorded and engineered in his home studio — all in the midst of a nearly year-long world tour — is the Canadian musician's latest, sounding like a cassette tape of Harry Nillsson that had been abandoned on the dashboard of a car in July (in a good way).

Watch DeMarco croon a couple tracks from "Another One" below. 

Only three years ago, DeMarco was working the night shift at a grocery store in Montreal and signing up as a medical test subject to make ends meet. But his 2012 album "Rock & Roll Nightclub" and 2013's "2," demonstrated DeMarco's keen songwriting, penchant for analog tape, and lyrical dexterity evocative of Jonathan Richman. The albums catapulted DeMarco from struggling musician to festival headliner.

Though last year's "Salad Days" took a departure towards synth-laden introspection, "Another One" is unapologetic in its classic pop romanticism. "These are pop songs, love songs," DeMarco tells Kurt Andersen. "You can come take these songs — everybody's in love sometimes — and do whatever you want with them."

(Originally aired July 16, 2015)

Video: "The Way You'd Love Her"

Video: "Another One"

Music Playlist

  1. Let Her Go

    Artist: Mac DeMarco
    Album: Salad Days
    Label: Captured Tracks
  2. My Kind of Woman (Instrumental)

    Artist: Mac DeMarco
    Album: 2 Demos
    Label: Captured Tracks