Mac DeMarco, Lantern, Whip Hands

Mac DeMarco makes music that’s easy to love, hard to pin down. Shot through with a goofy, warped sense of humor, the lo-fi songwriter’s sampled a variety of personas — sleazy, glam, winsome  — made all the more startling by how well he seems to pull each one off.  DeMarco’s a genuine talent on the rise, as evidenced by Captured Tracks’ release of his first full-length album this fall. Philadelphia’s Lantern make a feral kind of proto-rock, touched by raw blues and avant-garde leanings. Portland’s grunge revivalists Whip Hands get things rolling.