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Text by John Norris @jonnynono

He's something of a pop nomad, that Mac DeMarco, who by all indications is set to take his profile up a few more notches with the upcoming Mac DeMarco 2. Not only has Mac traversed the Canadian continent, from his native Edmonton, out to Vancouver where in a scene dominated by punk and hardcore, he formed the pop outfit Makeout Videotape, only to double back last year to Montreal (where so many Canadian music paths seem to lead)--but Mac has bounced around musically as well. Earlier this year, Rock and Roll Nightclub was released by Brooklyn's Captured Tracks, a debut full-length dominated by songs sung in a heavy-lidded crooner persona, glammed-up, louche, and looking to get busy. Add to that live shows in which Mac would occasionally get naked and stick a drumstick up his butt, and, well, you get the picture.

For album number two, the madman has toned things down a bit, but only a bit. Musically, the record turns to straight ahead pop jangle, generally (we think) un-ironic, and illustrated in the single "Freaking Out the Neighborhood". It's one of two songs you'll hear Mac and his band play live this week on Face Time, along with the first album's "She's Really All I Need". The set was shot at Braund Sound Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on whose roof we interviewed Mac, a conversation which ran the gamut from his night job at a grocery store in Montreal, to the aforementioned drumstick antics, to his love of porn, to the slew of videos that his friends made for the first album, to comparisons to Ariel Pink and how both artists manage to deftly split the difference between tongue-in-cheek sleaze and sweet sincerity. 

That second album--highly recommended--is out October 16th. But in the meantime, get to know and hear the man, as this week on Face Time we give you music and conversation with Mac DeMarco.