(Mac in his prime)
This album starts off with the very first track I heard from this album a few months back, “My Old Man”. It’s a very synth heavy sounding intro, but to be honest I’m glad Mac kept the acoustic strumming over this. Some might not dig the very synth heavy sound, but its something he’s been working with since the release of his “Another One” album. It’s seriously very smooth though, and these may be Mac’s most introspective and seriously deep lyrics we’ve ever heard from him. Here, Mac goes on about how as he grows older he realizes how he’s more and more like his father. It’s a mature statement from Mac, who up until now has been this sort of goodwill who we’ve always felt like we’ve known our whole lives. And just listening to this, I feel like Mac fans might feel for that. We’re seeing our old buddy Max grow up just a little bit right in front of our eyes. Instrumentally, it’s honestly what I wanted to hear from Mac at this point. He may have ditched the sort of Jangle Pop and Surf Rock influence, but this is a wonderful and touching song. “This Old Dog” is up next, and to be honest when I first heard this track a few months ago, I thought I was going to hate everything about this album. There are really nice elements, like Mac’s vocals and the strings that pop in for the chorus. Hell I even continue to seriously love Mac’s songwriting on this thing. But something about this one just seriously rubs me the wrong way. It doesn’t sound like a Mac Demarco tune. Now, hold your horses, I know what you’re thinking. You can argue that half of the tracks on here don’t sound like Mac Demarco tunes, in the long run those tracks come off just fine since they result in Mac maturing. “This Old Dog” however is just kinda bland, and worst of all seriously lacks any sort of real personality. And that’s really not good at all, plus by the time its over I really don’t feel like I took anything from it. Thankfully Mac does get back on track with “Baby You’re Out”, which personally rubs me all sort of right ways. While this is certainly a little more fleshed out and instrumentally broader than Mac’s older work, this also has the same laid back attitude that I fell in love with so many years ago. Mac has always done so well with ballads, even then these ballads don’t necessarily end up happy. Man just always comes off like he's at his best when writing about relationships. “Baby You’re Out” has a sort of tropical feel which totally comes off great with Mac, who’s totally dabbled in stuff like Surf Rock for years. But of course, at the end of the day the star of this continues to be 100% Mac, and just how much he’s growing with time and maturing. Even in song structure, this is just so much more well thought out for Mac. No, it’s not a show stopping single, but it’s a solid tune that makes me want to continue to enjoy Mac’s direction. Now, as far as Mac Demarco goes with synthesizers, it’s always been very hit and miss for me. I don’t think he’s ever done a seriously awful track with synths, but there have certainly been a few hiccups. However, “For The First Time” comes off flawlessly. This one sort of reminds me of the very spacey yet introspective “Chamber of Reflection”. I love just how sharp the instrumental is here, and Macs very laid back and seriously dreary performance here is to dire for. Mac’s usually just so happy go luck in interviews and on stage, but then you hear this and it’s pretty stunning. This is a serious heartbreaker for Mac, but because Mac has been such a personality over the years, hearing tracks like this make it hit home that much more. But at the same time, I feel like this also adds to the very mature sound to this album. It reminds us that even total sweethearts like Mac have their down moments and bad days. “One Another” is up next, and in a lot of ways this seriously comes off like an old school Mac track being just so bluesy and sweet. But to me, this really doesn’t seem to fit here. There are some nice elements, like I certainly dig the very breezy atmosphere. But lyrically this seems less mature, and even Mac’s performance doesn’t really add up to the tone of this track. Plus I dunno, I feel like this is just a massive rehashing of a bunch of tracks Mac released years ago. And that my friends is not good at al. However, I do like some of the very bluesy solos and sleigh bells throughout, this track had some serious potential.
“Still Beating” on the other hand is something that I can really get into. Is has all of the seriously great old school atmosphere’s of Mac’s music, but here Mac is backing up all of these sounds with some seriously thoughtful lyrics and great vocals. I mean, by this point in Mac’s career it’s clear that he’a at his best when he’s working with love songs and ballads, and that’s fine by me. This isn’t exactly the most memorable track of the album, but it combines everything I once absolutely loved about Mac’s music, and that’s fine by me. The shortest track here, “Sister” is a real shame to be honest. I love the very low key sound to this one, and Mac’s performance is seriously heart wrenching. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever really heard him this emotionally invested in any track ever, I’m almost in tears. The only issue with this, is it’s barely over a minute long. If this was like, 3 times as long, this would have been remarkable. “Dreams From Yesterday” however, I really feel like Mac dropped the ball with. I do see what Mac was going for with this one, I seriously do. I like the very breezy atmosphere and all, but at the end of the day this one really comes off very synthetic to me. If i heard this on some breezy, Low-Fi indie station, I would have thought this was the most fake sounding track in sight. And that’s not good at ALL, because Mac literally MADE this sound cool again. But with this more synth heavy and less live instrumentation oriented Mac, this falls flat. However, I do continue to really dig the atmosphere. Thankfully, Mac brushes himself off and picks himself up quickly with “A Wolf Who Wears Sheep’s Clothes”. This track gives me all sorts of incredible vibes. I wouldn’t say Mac is going old school here, because there certainly is a very synthetic vibe. But between those very bluesy harmonica licks, the very upbeat vibe, and Mac’s very confident performance, this is absolutely wonderful. Lyrically this shows that Mac can branch out into new territories comfortably and have it continue to come off really nicely. Not to mention, as mature and very new for Mac this is, this is also very carefree in sound, and I can’t get enough of it. Up next “One More Love Song”. Not only has Mac really grown up these last few years, he seriously has began to understand his feelings so much more. He's crafted so many of his truly deepest songs I’ve ever heard from him. Even Mac’s more somber love tunes in the past have always seemed so positive looking towards the future. “One More Love Song” however is just straight up somber and sad, Mac certainly has felt a little heartbreak recently. Not to mention, his seriously soulful vocals on this one are sort of retro yet still right up his alley.
“On the Level” is another example of just how well Mac’s synths come off sometimes when they’re done correctly. Here, in a weird way they come off almost sinister or sort of dark, especially the synths that are floating through the background. But in more heavy, somber toned tracks like this, if you dive into the lyrics you can seriously see a completely different side of Mac, one that’s beyond his very carefree days. This however, does come off really REALLY good. Mac’s become so much more aware of his life, he’s not the carefree slacker that we met years ago, he’s a serious artist and he’s really hunkering down. “Moonlight On the River” up next, may be Mac’s most ambitious work yet standing at 7 minutes. Atmospherically, it may be the coolest sounding track here between all of those seriously hazy guitars and Mac’s very dreamy performance. I feel like I’m beating a dead horse by saying this, but I can’t help but be seriously impressed with how coherent Mac is sounding. “I’m not sure if something major happened in his life this last year or so, but this is just so much above his usual lyrical output, especially when Mac starts going into death. The somber tone, the bluesy vocals and vibe, Mac this is seriously deep dude. At first I didn’t really like how endless this track sounded, 7 minutes is a LOT for Mac. But it’s certainly justified, and I love the very dreamy jam at the end of this one. This album ends us off with “Watching Him Far Away”, which in a lot of ways is sort of a standard Mac outro. In a way, I feel like “Moonlight on the River” would have been a better finale. But “Watching Him Fade Away” lyrically wraps up this album by summarizing things nicely. On the other hand however, instrumentally this is Mac’s most underwhelming track here. Overall though, this album is gigantic for Mac.
Rating : 7.8/10
Give A Listen To: “My Old Man”, “For The First Time”, “A Wolf Who Wears Sheeps Clothing”, “One More Love Song”
Overall Rating: By far, this is Mac's most mature release to date. Over the years, Mac has always to me had such a massive personality that more times than not, I feel like I seriously know the guy. But here, Mac does some serious growing up and maturing right in front of our eyes. The result, is a series of his most well written songs to date. But that of course, doesn't mean that there aren't some hiccups here. Instrumentally, since Mac has grew further from his Bluesy, Indie roots I've felt like he's been more prone to a boring track here and there. If instrumentally he can get a little more consistent, he can come out with something truly legendary. But still, this is a really really solid Mac Demarco project, and shows he's still got more than a lot to still give us.
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