Pitchfork calls Mac DeMarco’s ‘Passing out Pieces’ one of the best tracks of the year
Pitchfork
Ah, year-end lists. A time for reflection, competition and some good old fashioned favoritism.
Ah, year-end lists. A time for reflection, competition and some good old fashioned favoritism.
Pepperoni Playboy is a psychedelic 34-minute doc that follows indie wildman Mac DeMarco as he hams it up on tour in China, shows off his home studio, and generally takes part in hijinks of all sorts.
The ever prolific Ty Segall has announced Mr. Face, a new EP that’s due January 13 via Famous Class. It’s being billed as “the world’s first playable pair of 3D glasses.”
Packaged with some funky artwork, the EP’s two 7″ records will also serve as the first-ever playable 3D glasses.
Salad Days wraps itself in warm shades of jangly psych pop that counterbalance the weight of DeMarco’s words, and he milks that quirky juxtaposition to great effect.
As his second full-length album, Mac DeMarco’s Salad Days brings the same nonchalance and chill vibes as his previous album, 2, but with added maturity and insightful lyrics on tracks like, “Passing Out Pieces” and “Go Easy.”
I’m in Your Mind Fuzz isn’t easily categorized. But as varied as King Gizzard are, they’ve established one surefire safe bet with each record: They implement their “more is more” approach for maximum impact. Their songs are dense, intricately crafted, and most importantly, powerful.
The all-ages, sold-out crowd at the Croc filled the floor with shiny faces and moshy bodies, ready to go Oh Sees mental. Immediately, the crowd began to release its own energy back, the center swirling and undulating like a hurricane sea, waves of arms and shoulders and heads crashing into each other, quite happily.
Panache Booking is thrilled to announce that Mac DeMarco, Thee Oh Sees, Fuzz, White Fence, Krakatau & Heaters will all be playing at one of our favorite festivals Austin Psych Fest. APF announced their line up today along with their new name Levitation. Weekend passes available here. See you there!
Segall recorded almost everything on his massive double album Manipulator himself. Along the way, he learned some new tricks: Conjuring grandeur with walloping choruses, injecting syncopation into his riff-rock onslaught, turning his howl into a potent glam-rock.
The 24-year-old Canadian singer-guitarist’s second album – a warm, polished set of sun-drenched folk-rock jams – feels like it could have been a lost used-vinyl-bin treasure from the Seventies. DeMarco channels Harry Nilsson, the Beach Boys, Steely Dan and the Beatles, but the offbeat stoner vibes are all him.
Riding high on the crest of 2012’s breakout album 2, Salad Days saw the slacker surf formula fleshed out with woozy synths, while lyrical refrains often sat at odds with the optimistic guitar jangles underpinning them, at turns self-reflective and emotionally bereft.
Mac DeMarco made a quick appearance on Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show earlier this week. Everything starts off normally enough with DeMarco playing 2 track “Still Together,” but things take a weird turn when the host stops everything and announces that it’s time to “Attack DeMarco” and a bunch of samurai come out to hit the singer with sticks and try to choke him.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is a wholly suitable name for this seven-piece Australian psychedelic outfit, who metaphorically throw DayGlo paint at the studio walls without regard for taste – blues harmonica, double drummers, flute, beaty pop, heavily treated vocals – and see what emerges.
This Polaris Prize-nominated record largely continues the breezy and easy vibe of 2012’s 2, but with a touch more sophistication and nuance, yielding some of his best songs yet, including the gorgeously grooving “Brother.” DeMarco shows off an impressive evolution here, but without shedding any of his previous releases’ scruffy charm. Salad Days goes down easier than an ice-cold PBR.
Ty Segall is shifting gears from hyper-productive psychedelic prodigy to all-growed-up glam-rock guitar god.
Standout Track: “The Faker”
Standout track: “Passing Out Pieces”
You can never be fully prepared for an interview with Mac DeMarco, the gap-toothed, camo-overall-wearing Canadian teen indie-heartthrob loverboy.