Five Easy Hot Dogs

デビュー以来USインディ最前線を走り続けるMAC DEMARCOが、2019年作『HERE COMES THE COWBOY』以来となる待望のニューアルバムをアナウンス!

ツアー中に録音されたというインストゥルメンタル・アルバムとなっており、それぞれの曲名はレコーディング / ミックスが行われた年を反映。トラックリストはその制作された年代順になっているとのことです。あちこちに出かけ、レコーディングをし、旅をする…。「サウンドもテーマも何も考えず、ただレコーディングするだけ」というマック・デマルコのアイデンティティを反映させたニューアルバムとなっています!

Though for a time his puckish grinning and lackadaisical personality might have been the most immediately recognizable aspects of Mac DeMarcos public image, his perfectly arranged yet unlabored songwriting is whats always truly set him apart. DeMarcos fascinating perspectives and uniquely wobbly production updated the time-honored pop song format for a new generation of artists who were making straightforward melodic rock music of their own, and records like his 2014 slacker pop capstone Salad Days were instant classics. DeMarcos style matured somewhat as he went along, but from the start he snuck sly jazzy chords and other subtly intricate musicality into his would-be straightforward indie rock. Completely instrumental album Five Easy Hot Dogs leans more toward this side of DeMarcos creative energy than his excellence as an unassuming songwriter, though it still captures some of the off-kilter production and arrangement vantage points that define his sound. Recorded in transit as DeMarco moved through various stops on a road trip, the 14 pieces here were all written in and named after the towns they were created in. As a result, the production is no-frills and the songs themselves are pleasantly spare. Many consist of little more than smooth basslines and wispy synth kept afloat by extremely simple drum parts. The album is presented in the chronological order the songs were recorded in, beginning with the light wafts of acoustic guitar and synth on "Gualala" and ending at "Rockaway" in a similar (if slightly more bossa nova) mood. "Vancouver 2" is slightly more reflective than most of the other tracks, and the slowly scraped percussion ridges of "Edmonton" sound almost like a strained motor on a dying cassette four-track. The percussion is where DeMarco seems to be having the most fun throughout Five Easy Hot Dogs, with the smiling stoner funk of "Chicago" and the warped "Victoria" (the song most in line with his signature production bleariness) all rich with clicks and knocks of interesting wood blocks and guiro sounds. The album is light, flowing, and friendly, sounding like low-energy library music on tracks like "Chicago 2." This release is probably more for Mac DeMarco super fans than casual listeners, as theres nothing resembling the happy-go-lucky hooks of his best-loved songs, just the incidental sounds collected on a slow, aimless wander. ~ Fred Thomas