The reigning hooligan king of indie pop, Mac DeMarco, just released a mini-album of love songs that revealed, in addition to the nuances of his heart, his home address with an invitation for coffee.
At his bayside house in an overgrown corner of the Rockaways, Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco has been hosting his fans. It’s mid-July, and his new mini-album, Another One, his fourth record, leaked three days ago. The record is eight songs of breezy, surf-tinged guitar pop with a thick ’70s soft-rock patina. At the end of its last track, “My House by the Water,” DeMarco gives his address, adding “Stop on by—I’ll make you a cup of coffee.” Already a dozen young fans have taken him up on the offer.
Attribute the fact that fans feel comfortable enough to visit to the easygoing persona he’s cultivated—a jokey indie-rock everydude. Earlier this summer, Mac hosted a barbecue outside East Williamsburg bar Our Wicked Lady, offering to #makeyouafuckinghotdog in exchange for a food bank donation. Hundreds of folks showed up at 1pm on a Wednesday. It goes without saying that this week’s sizable four-night run sold out months in advance.
DeMarco talked with Time Out while sitting in the bedroom-studio where he wrote and recorded Another One.
On fans stopping by
“It’s funny—they just want to stay as long as they can. Today they showed up, and I was still asleep.”
On his promotional #makeyouafuckinghotdog BBQ
“We had these two little shitty $20 hibachi grills that I bought at the Stop & Shop down the street and those really sketchy lighter-fluid-infused charcoal briquettes. But that stuff only burns for so long, so we were loading them up. I think we gave out like 500 hot dogs.”
On Tyler the Creator’s fans taking a liking to his music
“His fans are hella young, and they’re devoted like crazy. So we had all these rap kids at our shows wearing his clothing brand, and they’d be like, ‘I don’t even listen to guitar music, but this is pretty sick.’”
On fans illegally downloading Another One before its release
“It’s nice to see people’s reaction before they’re told how to feel about something.”
On fans visiting his house
“I’m planning on leaving after the lease is up, so I was thinking, I’ll be on tour pretty much the whole time. But it leaked a month early. I’m here all month.”
Mac DeMarco plays Bowery Ballroom Aug 17, Webster Hall Aug 18, Music Hall of Williamsburg Aug 19 and Warsaw Aug 20.
