‘I want to be that wandering terror of rock’n’roll again’

Indie slacker Mac DeMarco speaks with Kevin E G Perry on quitting smoking, how he earned his new ‘weird album’ and why young bands should embrace human imperfection

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In the early 2010s, it seemed as if everyone in indie rock wanted to be Mac DeMarco.

The Canadian was the ultimate slacker success story, traversing the globe playing sold-out shows with a guitar in one hand, a half-drunk whiskey bottle in the other and a cigarette dangling from his lips. These days, at 35, DeMarco is already encountering a new generation that just doesn't see the appeal. “It’s frustrating for me when I meet these young musicians who are like: ‘Oh, touring is so hard and exhausting,” he says. His tone, at first incredulous, turns lightly mocking. “Maybe there are just too many nepo babies now that are used to sunning themselves in the south of France every summer going: 'Oh Papa, this venue is so dark and stinky. I'd rather be on the shores of Marseille...”

Much has changed for DeMarco since those debauched days in 2012 when he first sauntered onto the scene with his sleazy and subversive mini-album Rock and Roll Night Club and its laidback, hook-filled followup 2. Today he has a bigger fanbase than ever, with over 20 million Spotify listeners each month, but he's left his hard-partying lifestyle behind. In conversation, he now cuts an altogether more contemplative figure - without the slightly frayed, nicotinic air of old. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is his zeal for life on the road. “I tell those young musicians: 'Don't you see? This is why',” he says, his voice rising with the verve of a religious proselytiser. “You get to go on vacation with your friends indefinitely, hang out with new people every night and you're getting paid to do it! It's the ultimate adventure!”