MAC DEMARCO

Five Easy Hot Dogs (Mac’s Record Label)

Five Easy Hot Dogs is cult Canadian college rocker Mac DeMarco’s first exclusively instrumental album: a collection of primarily guitar-based tunes stemming from his time on the road. Though comprising 14 tracks, this includes a second, alternate take of most songs – and in the case of Vancouver, three distinct versions (I prefer Vancouver 3 over the other two).

An aim of Mac’s for this album was to record and mix each song in the corresponding (North American) city of each song title, with the tracklist reflecting the chronological order in which these songs were produced.

As much as the result’s a break from the norm, Five Easy Hot Dogs is missing a little variation – and, yes, some singing would be nice, thinking here of past Mac albums and the gems they contained, from Freaking Out The Neighborhood to Salad Days or …Finally Alone. However, as a listen it’s put in a better light if thought of as a memento from Mac DeMarco’s travels – and worthy of addition to your ‘chill’ playlist.

words AMY WILD