I singled out this track in particular because I personally believe that it is favorite Mac Demarco song at the moment. That’s a good thing too!įinally, let’s talk about “Moonlight On The River”. The use of a harmonica “A Wolf Who Wears Sheep’s Clothes” is just incredible and “Still Beating” feels like it could have been on Salad Days. I would put songs like “Baby You’re Out”, “Still Beating”, and “A Wolf Who Wears Sheep’s Clothes” up there with some of the best songs of this year alone! They’re all incredibly catchy while maintaining Mac’s mature lyrical tone. This Old Dog has some of Mac’s catchiest songs to date and possibly some of the best out of his entire catalogue. This may be a slower Mac Demarco album, but don’t be fooled. Oh no, looks like I’m seeing more of my old man in me Uh-oh, looks like I’m seeing more of my old man in me It’s simple, but extremely effective when you couple it with Mac’s lyrics about how he’s afraid that he may one day turn into his father and “Sister” is a very short tribute song to Mac’s half-sister Holly. “My Old Man” is just an acoustic cut with some background synths.
Mac demarco this old dog review for mac#
“My Old Man” and “Sister” are pretty bare tracks for Mac Demarco standards. The piano on this track really adds this grandiose feeling to it that just adds to the already infectious chorus. “One More Love Song” is one of my favorite tracks on the album and it contains one of my favorite choruses in Mac’s entire discography.Īfter all this time, it turns all you had The slower cuts on this album, which there are a lot of, are all fantastic and still has my head bobbing to the lovely instrumentals. Not to say that those earlier albums weren’t written well, but the more mature change of writing is a welcome one. There aren’t a lot of goofy elements to this album, it’s excellently written and also played at a lot slower pace. On his albums though, he was able to turn his pension for being funny and made great music out of it. Numerous on-stage antics have led to him having a pretty interesting reputation. In all, This Old Dog is a logical continuation of DeMarco's musical explorations, but the maturation of his songwriting is what gives it gravitas.Mac Demarco has had a pension for being a pretty silly guy.
As heavy as some of the moods are, though, it's tough to diminish that sly twinkle that generally adorns DeMarco's delivery and he can't help but cloak his newfound confessionalism in some sunny West Coast grooves, particularly on songs like "Baby You're Out" and "A Wolf Who Wears Sheep's Clothes." "For the First Time" and "On the Level," a pair of woozy keyboard-heavy ballads, feel like an outgrowth of Another One's love song experiment and likely have their roots in those same sessions. A similarly spare, though less maudlin mid-album track is also dedicated to his sister. DeMarco's father makes further appearances in these songs, most arrestingly on the spare and somber closer, "Watching Him Fade Away," which is easily one of the album's highlights. Confronting his own prankster public persona on the acoustic guitar and drum machine meditation "My Old Man," he sings "there's a price tag hanging off of having all that fun," setting up the self-realization of how quickly we come to resemble our own parents. Newer to DeMarco's world are the inward self-reflections and thoughtful musings on family, friends, and love that are scattered throughout This Old Dog. The heavily chorused guitar riffs, laid-back drum grooves, and off-kilter soft rock transmutations from his first two LPs mesh with the wobbly synth textures that came to the fore on 2015's excellent mini-album, Another One. More lyrically introspective than previous DeMarco releases, the hallmarks of his now-signature sound are all still here, albeit with subtle shifts in emphasis. Following a move to California and a breather from several years of near-constant touring, indie hero Mac DeMarco emerges with This Old Dog, his third full-length and proper follow-up to 2014's breakout LP Salad Days.