Indie enfant terrible Mac DeMarco returned this summer with his first full-length album since 2019, following an instrumental project released in 2023 and the mammoth (in terms of track count) compilation One Wayne G, featuring nine hours of demos, which came out a few months later.
Guitar, his new offering, is deliberately simple and direct (as its name suggests, which is also particularly simple and direct): the project totals 31 minutes across 12 ultra-consistent tracks, all carried by a more refined orchestration than ever before and melancholic, honest lyrics, perhaps the best of his career.
The first thing that comes to mind when listening to the first track on Guitar is that it comes from the heart. It’s a little bland, sure, and the songs blend together as the album progresses, but the intention behind it is incredibly authentic. In a world where the awful and hopeless concept of the AI band, Velvet Sundown, attracts hundreds of thousands of the most brainless listeners on the planet, listening to Guitar makes us think that there is still hope for artists who don’t overproduce their music in vain, artists who prefer instead to bare their souls and present the truest version of themselves.
Some will tell you that the project is lazy, but I would rather say that it is gentle and sincere.
DeMarco tries his hand at falsetto (countertenor) singing several times on the album, which can be heard from the very first note of the first track, “Shining.” If we can point to one new experiment by the artist, it is this singing technique, which he now uses with confidence.
The British Columbian, who spent his early years in Edmonton, also seems to have listened extensively to the Beatles’ more pop-oriented songs in recent years, as the influence of the highly influential Paul McCartney is evident in several chord progressions and melodies on Guitar. To be honest, artists who haven’t been inspired by the Fab Four over the past 60 years are rarer than those who have.
Personal favorites are “Phantom” and “Sweeter,” which intrigue me in terms of how they will sound live, with the rest of DeMarco’s band, which he may introduce during his world tour that began just a few days ago.
We know full well that Mac DeMarco can do better, though. Salad Days, but especially This Old Dog, his essential opus in my opinion, remind us of this when we listen to them again.
But Guitar is still a good comeback for the Canadian artist, a very enjoyable project that is best listened to on your speakers while sipping a microbrew on a Saturday night in Lafontaine Park, while the late summer weather still allows it.
All of DeMarco’s albums are made to be listened to in this particular setting; in fact, indie music reveals a certain magic in Montreal’s parks.
Unsatisfied with Hear The Music, an album he was working on right after One Wayne G, Mac DeMarco completely started over from scratch with this new release, Guitar, written and recorded in just 12 days.
Come to think of it, this reminds us of the behaviour of a certain Neil Young, who is only now dusting off his “lost albums” from the 1970s, albums that he had also thrown away at the time for no good reason, such as Oceanside Countryside and his sublime and touching Homegrown.
For DeMarco fans, we hope that the indie artist will not follow in the questionable footsteps of his compatriot, the great Young.
Wasted music is always a shame, regardless of the artist.
Well, actually, no, with a few exceptions. Benson Boone, you could have kept your American Heart to yourself, we wouldn’t have held it against you. Really.
