‘ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE’ is an adage that has been a part of the world’s collective vernacular ever since The Beatles first embedded it into our brains with a great deal of persistence. An enduring ideology that has been clung to for decades since it was first aired, it is one that Canadian musician Mac Demarco has clearly became infatuated with during the making of new record Another One.

Sticking stringently to one topic like never before, Demarco doesn’t deliver anything in the way of a concept album regarding the emotion but he does provide us with a solid collection of songs about love that veer between sweet to bitter but are nonetheless beautifully constructed in his own signature style.

Kicking things off with a warped and wonky guitar riff; ‘The Way You’d Love Her’ is a wistful and glorious track that stands shoulder to shoulder with much of his finest output. Demarco’s lamentation of a relationship that never quite reached the heady heights that it could have been deeply saddening in nature, but it is contrasted by a nothing less than exuberant guitar solo that sounds like the lovechild of the playing styles of XXX

Similar in its aesthetic but less outright in approach, the record’s title track employs a dense electronic piano that instantaneously registers in the same vein as Salad Days standout ‘Chamber Of Reflection’. A forlorn effort that sees the British Columbia-born artist verbalise the many feelings that spring to mind of a once cohesive relationship slowly deteriorating due to the infidelity of one party.

In a shift of almost bipolar proportions, Demarco leaps from a tale of unfaithfulness to ‘No Other Heart’, a track which sees him reconcile with the notion of an unbreakable bond between a couple over a jangly and sincerely catchy backdrop.

Whilst the verses document a potential suitor’s vain attempts to dissuade the object of his desires away from her current beau, the chorus; which is resolutely one of the strongest he’s ever written, dispels this notion by vehemently stating: “Her heart belongs to another and no other heart will do.”

Polished and skilful guitar lines recall the double pronged assault of much of Thin Lizzy’s output features on ‘Just To Put Me Down’; a track which is sure to become a crowning jewel of his live set due to its capacity for expansion.

The melancholia seeps back through on ‘A Heart Like Hers’, a solemn and plodding effort that is drenched in deep and wallowing organ that epitomises the sense of hopelessness that Mac is attempting to convey. This track, whilst a thrilling composition in its own right, marks something of a watershed in Demarco’s career as a songwriter; wholeheartedly transcending the laidback style that has characterised much of his work and allowing the listener a rare glimpse into the depths of his soul.

The reverberating guitar that is the driving force behind ‘Without Me’ is nothing short of sublime, falling into his long lineage of tracks that could soundtrack the most mundane moment in a listener’s life and elevate them to a state of importance.

Rounding things off with the broadly instrumental ‘My House By The Water’, it produces notions of unabridged serenity thanks to the cresting waves and fleeting glimpses of organ that make their way to the centre of the track. In a confounding move yet typically amiable move from Demarco, the album draws to a close as he nonchalantly states “6802 Bayfield Ave, Arverne New York. Stop on by, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”

Providing his personal address to a devoted army of fans may not be the wisest move for some, but it’s one that acts to reaffirm that Demarco is one of the most charismatic and vital figures in this modern era.

Whilst this record may be concerned with love as a thematic concern, no one ever said that it would see Demarco completely elated by it; he often focuses on the demeaning and heart wrenching side of romance that leaves those that it befalls in the throes of woe throughout this release.

Pushing the envelope in some ways yet remaining steadfast in others, it’s an album which will be remembered by the strength of his songwriting and the multi-faceted way in which he approaches the concept of love.  Enlisting instrumentals that are often euphoric and teaming them with insightful commentary about the tempestuous nature of adoration, he further attracts the music buying public that he’s already cherished by.