Album Review: Mac DeMarco - Another One

How can such laid-back vocals pack so much of an emotional punch?

How can vintage sounds add up to make something that sounds so fresh? How can so much feeling be packed into eight songs? That's the beauty of Mac DeMarco and Another One. On the surface, it looks and feels so effortless, yet if you stop and think about it for a second, it's obvious there's so much more going on. Slow-jam, falsetto vocals merge with sexy bass grooves. Strawberry Fields-style orchestrations seamlessly combine with noodling guitars. Seventies organs mix with a bare bones slackerness and an over-produced '80s guitar sound, some deliberately out of tune notes here and there to keep things just a little off balance. Everything that should add up to nothing more than a big mess comes together in an inexplicable balance that's just right. This kind of musical chemistry experiment is not for beginners.

With last year's Salad Days, Mac DeMarco took a straightforward attitude and stripped-back approach to arrangements, then added a lush sheen to make something new, something different and something immensely listenable. With Another One, he delivers a little more of everything. More instruments, more studio sheen, more attention to detail. Another One is a great sequel to Salad Days. Enough of the same to keep fans of the original happy, with just enough new stuff to make sure it never feels like a rehash or remake.