“As I’m getting older, chip up on my shoulder...” is the opening line from Mac DeMarco’s<br data-mce-fragment="1">second full-length LP ‘Salad Days,’ the follow up to 2012’s lauded ‘Mac DeMarco 2.’<br data-mce-fragment="1">Amongst that familiar croon and lilting guitar, that initial line from the title track sets the tone<br data-mce-fragment="1">for an LP of a maturing singer/songwriter/producer. Someone strangely self-aware of the<br data-mce-fragment="1">positives and negatives of their current situation at the ripe old age of 23.<br data-mce-fragment="1">Written and recorded around a relentless tour schedule (which picked up all over again as<br data-mce-fragment="1">soon as the LP was done), ‘Salad Days’ gives the listener a very personal insight into what<br data-mce-fragment="1">it’s all about to be Mac amidst the craziness of a rising career in a very public format. The<br data-mce-fragment="1">lead single, “Passing Out Pieces,” set to huge overdriven organ chords, contains lines like<br data-mce-fragment="1">“...never been reluctant to share, passing out pieces of me...” Clearly, this isn’t the same<br data-mce-fragment="1">record that breezily gave us “Dreamin,” and “Ode to Viceroy” but the result of what comes<br data-mce-fragment="1">from their success. “Chamber of Reflection,” a track featuring icy synth stabs and soulful<br data-mce-fragment="1">crooning, wouldn’t be out of place on a fantasy Shuggie Otis and Prince collaboration.<br data-mce-fragment="1">Standout tracks like these show Mac’s widening sound, whether insights into future<br data-mce-fragment="1">directions or even just welcome one-off forays into new territory.<br data-mce-fragment="1">Still, this is musically, lyrically and melodically good old Mac DeMarco, through and through.<br data-mce-fragment="1">The same crisp John Lennon / Phil Spector era homegrown lush production that could have<br data-mce-fragment="1">walked out of Geoff Emerick’s mixing board in 1972, but with that peculiar Mac touch that’s<br data-mce-fragment="1">completely of right now. “Brother,” a complete future classic, is Mac at his most soulful and<br data-mce-fragment="1">easygoing but with that distinct weirdness and bite that can only come from Mr. DeMarco.<br data-mce-fragment="1">“Treat Her Better” is rife with “Mac-isms,” heavily chorused slinky lead guitar, swooning<br data-mce-fragment="1">vocal melodies, effortless chords that come along only after years of effort, and the other<br data-mce-fragment="1">elements seriously lacking in independent music: sentiment and heartfelt sincerity.<br data-mce-fragment="1">We’re only at Part 2 and 1/2 (one EP and two LP’s in) into Mac’s career. As you read this<br data-mce-fragment="1">and as you hear the album on April Fool’s Day of this year, he’ll probably be on tour, or<br data-mce-fragment="1">preparing for one... or maybe already writing new music. A relentless work ethic is something<br data-mce-fragment="1">to be admired in today’s indie music scene, but when it’s of the quality Mac is giving us time<br data-mce-fragment="1">and time again, it starts to turn from admiration to awe.<br><br>01 Salad Days<br data-mce-fragment="1">02 Blue Boy<br data-mce-fragment="1">03 Brother<br data-mce-fragment="1">04 Let Her Go<br data-mce-fragment="1">05 Goodbye Weekend<br data-mce-fragment="1">06 Let My Baby Stay<br data-mce-fragment="1">07 Passing Out Pieces<br data-mce-fragment="1">08 Treat Her Better<br data-mce-fragment="1">09 Chamber Of Reflection<br data-mce-fragment="1">10 Go Easy<br data-mce-fragment="1">11 Jonny’s Odyssey<br>