Mac Demarco- 'This Old Dog' Album Review

Mac Demarco- ‘This Old Dog’

Everyone knows Mac Demarco and his demeanour by now. The goofy 27 year-old gap-toothed slacker who enjoys smoking cigarettes and excessive hashtagging on Instagram has become increasingly renowned for his typically wavey, stoner-appealing tunes and carefree atittude. However, after 5 years of having fun in the spotlight, Demarco’s latest record ‘This Old Dog’ sees him taking a much more serious look at himself, potentially not in a musical aspect, but certainly lyrically.

This is extremely apparent on album opener ‘My Old Man’ in which Demarco sings about his fear that he will inevitably turn into his father as he gets older, his dad being a man who ran out of the family home when Demarco was just 5 years of age. On this particular track Demarco sings “For he can't be me; Look how old and cold and tired; And lonely he's become; Not until you see; There's a price tag hanging off of having all that fun”. This retrospective, fearful aspect to Demarco’s music is certainly a new feature, potentially displaying the fact that Demarco has recently matured, and therefore become more self-aware. On album closer ‘Watching Him Fade Away’, Demarco sings about the sadness that he feels regarding the fact that his father is slowly dying due to alcohol and drug dependency, thus creating one of the most emotionally fuelled songs of Demarco’s career and giving this album a heart-tugging poignant end. The chorus of “And even though we barely know each other; It still hurts watching him fade away, watching him fade away” again shows Demarco’s much more mature new lyrical approach.

Don’t be under the impression that this is a completely new-sounding Demarco, far from it in fact. He knows the formula of the songs that have made him so popular on his previous studio records and he’s sticking with that sound. The titular track ‘This Old Dog’ is stereotypical Demarco with its jangly guitar chords and slow style it serves to remind the listener that he can do ballads and still make them sound fun and exciting. ‘On The Level’ is another strong track with its sharp, resonant keyboard notes being used prominently within the background paired with the simple drumming that we have all become familiar with on Demarco’s tracks and a loose bass line that has all been combined together expertly. This paired with the echoed lyrics of Demarco helps to create a superb track.

‘This Old Dog’ almost feels like a stepping stone in Mac Demarco’s music career. On his 3^rd studio album he has successfully managed to create an object that is simultaneously stereotypical amusing Demarco whilst also having a mean, edgy bite to it that helps it to become probably his best record to date so far.

Overall Rating- 8/10

Fave Tracks- ‘This Old Dog’, ‘On The Level’, ‘Still Beating’, ‘One More Love Song’

Least Fave Tracks- ‘Sister’, ‘My Old Man’