It’s been 6 years since Mac Demarco released a proper studio album(and no, 2023s Five Easy Hot Dogs doesn’t count.) The Canadian weirdo/slacker/multi-instrumentalist’s last proper album was 2019s Here Comes The Cowboy, an album that felt lacking when compared to the previous three LPs. This Old Dog from 2017 was his most promising, showing the goofball exterior fading and revealing a more thoughtful singer/songwriter.
Mac Demarco is back and with a proper record. Guitar shows the clown prince of indie rock in chill out mode. Well, more chill than usual. Gone are the wonky synths and quirky noise makers and in its place is an acoustic-driven singer/songwriter album. At times eloquent and other times a bit dull, Mac Demarco retains his knack for pop hooks and melodic writing. But it doesn’t quite get to top elevation, instead hanging just under the clouds.
Guitar feels like an intimate affair. It sounds as if you’re sitting in Demarco’s studio and he’s previewing the songs just for you; gentle acoustic strums, low key drums, and subtle-y plucked bass lines. His voice still with that nicotine crackle in its voice(though he has quit smoking.) After song number three or so you get the gist, but there’s 9 more to go. Not bad, just a little same-y.
“Sweeter” hits at song number two and it has the dreamy, druggy charm that hit so hard on Demarco’s breakthrough album 2. The kind of song that comes across as more of a plea than a promise; “I’ll be so much sweeter/now, get back inside your cage” carries as much menace as melody. “Nightmare” carries a similar vibe, with gentle minor key chord changes and Demarco’s scruffy falsetto singing about smoking whole packs and not turning back. Even a song like “Rock and Roll” doesn’t get over a lazy mosey. Just a medicated head nod and slow motion shimmy to the cooler for another O’Douls.
That’s pretty much what you’re getting on Guitar. Breezy, short, simple acoustic guitar songs with Demarco’s non-descript lyrics coming at you like random thoughts from a guy struggling to come up with something interesting to record. These aren’t bad songs by any means, just ditties that dissipate into thin air as quickly as they come at you. It’s almost as if Mac Demarco is finding it hard to come up with anything. Though, if you google a recent story he told on stage involving Indian food and, umm, “self-care”, you might think there’s still little weird in him.
Guitar is a pleasant enough listen from Mac Demarco. It just doesn’t have the staying power of a Salad Days or This Old Dog.
Complex Distractions 