''2'' is the debut studio album by Canadian musician

Mac DeMarco McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV; April 21, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He has released five full-length studio albums: his debut '' 2'' (2012), '' Salad Days' ...

. It was recorded in June 2012, and released in October 2012 on the

Captured Tracks Captured Tracks is an American independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York. The label was founded in 2008 by Mike Sniper. About Current flagship artists include: Craft Spells, DIIV and Wild Nothing. Captured Tracks has reissued reco ...

label.

Background

DeMarco moved from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 2011. There, he recorded a mini LP under his own name, ''Rock and Roll Nightclub''. Featuring slowed-down vocals and elements of

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

, this recording garnered enough attention that his label, Captured Tracks, agreed to finance a full-length album. DeMarco shifted his style from ''Rock and Roll Nightclub'' to ''2'', and his glam and crooning singing style were dropped for a more standard approach to guitar rock. The album was composed and recorded in DeMarco's Montreal apartment, in the

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

neighbourhood. DeMarco made the recording wearing only his "skivvies", or underwear. In a June 2012 interview, DeMarco announced that about 75% of the album had been completed.

Music

The album contains a single acoustic track, "Still Together", which is a re-recording of "Together", written by DeMarco on 2009 to Makeout Videotape EP "Bossa Yeye", also features DeMarco using

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

singing in the chorus. The opener, "Cooking Up Something Good", uses a song structure where a catchy verse transitions to a "blindsiding" darker chorus. "Robson Girl" also juxtaposes a "sweet" verse with a guitar-shredding chorus. Lyrically, DeMarco covers growing up in

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

ia, failed love and family secrets, the last featuring heavily in "Cooking Up Something Good". "Ode to Viceroy" is a tribute to the singer's favourite brand of cigarettes. DeMarco is apologizing to his mother in "Freaking Out the Neighbourhood", and trying to convince a girl to leave town with him in "The Stars Keep on Calling My Name".

Artwork

In September 2014, DeMarco stated in a "What's in My Bag?" interview video at

Amoeba Records Amoeba Music is an American independent music store chain with locations in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It stocks media, primarily music, but also films and television programs via DVD and VHS. Its music s ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

that he had been inspired by the album art for

Haruomi Hosono , sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop f ...

's '' Hosono House'' for the design of ''2''’s album cover. In the same interview, DeMarco also points out his cover’s striking but coincidental similarity to

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's '' The River''.

Reception

On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''2'' received an 81 out of 100, indicating “universal acclaim” based on 17 reviews. The album was compared by several reviewers to Real Estate's 2011 release, ''

Days A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This daily cyc ...

''. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' called DeMarco a "skilled songwriter" and likened him to fictional character Ferris Bueller. DeMarco's guitar work was praised by several reviewers. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' remarked that, although the initial tracks have promise, the album "never quite delivers" and criticised its "unvarying" tone. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' gave an enthusiastic review, awarding the record its "Best New Music" designation. Reviewer Sam Hockley-Smith commented positively on DeMarco's songwriting and lyrical depth. The website placed the album at 43rd on their "50 Best Albums of the Year" retrospective. The album was named a longlisted nominee for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

on June 13, 2013."Polaris Music Prize Unveils 2013 Long List"
. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', June 13, 2012. The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far, a list published by ''

'' in August 2014. In 2019, ''Pitchfork'' ranked the album at number 149 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s".

Track listing

Personnel

All credits adapted from physical releases *

- songwriting, all instruments, mixing * Josh Bonati - mastering * Evan Prosofsky - photography

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2012 debut albums Mac DeMarco albums Captured Tracks albums