10 Almost Perfect Alternative Rock Albums
3. 2 - Mac DeMarco (2012)
Cooking Up Something Good opens up Mac DeMarco's second album, with musings about a dull and uninspiring suburban life. Everything and everyone seems lazy and disinteresting. He recounts his situation of uninspired, unemployment as he lives at home - with nothing but a steady supply of nicotine to keep him occupied. Despite the somewhat depressive situation, he offers up a hopeful resolution, electing to push on through, until life offers up new opportunities. Much of the album follows similar themes. DeMarco always seems to be vaguely dissatisfied with something, but for only as long as the song lasts.
His sound is unmistakable. It's bedroom slacker rock done to perfection. DeMarco became famous for his lo-fi sound, electing to record and produce all of his music on analogue equipment. He admitted to recording most of the parts lounging around in his underwear. You can almost smell the stale pizza and the Viceroy cigarette smoke clinging to the mix.
The imperfections on this album are what give it charm. DeMarco's tone and over all sound just wouldn't work on a highly polished studio production. Like Kurt Vile, however, his sound can become tiresome. A whole album of this stuff, tends to drag...