Secret Meeting score: 79

by Philip Moss and Phil Scarisbrick

Mac DeMarco is a shining beacon for any musician who feels they haven’t had the opportunities they deserve. He writes, records and produces all of his own music. Everything you hear on his records is him and only him and because of this, you can really connect on an emotional level with everything you hear. It isn’t a writer’s thoughts put through the usual creative cycle with band mates, producers, session musicians or anyone else who might be involved. These records are pure, un-sanitised Mac DeMarco – that is a rare and wonderful thing.

For his third LP, This Old Dog, DeMarco demoed the album while in the midst of a move from his home in Queens, NY to Los Angeles. By the time he got round to recording the full album, he’d had time to sit and reflect on the songs (something he said he’d never done before – “Usually I just write, record, and put it out; no problem”). So what we get is a more carefully considered and mature record than his previous releases. And although it’s less immediate and his longest record to date (at thirteen tracks and 42 minutes), it’s equally hook laden with that timeless knack of making every song feel like it’s your all-time favourite, even if it’s the first time you’ve heard it.

In full on evaluative mode, My Old Man finds Mac reflecting on his troubled relationship with his father: “Look at the mirror/What do you see?/Someone familiar/ But surely not me”, as he began to realise the life of excess, which had seen his dad hospitalised in his native Edmonton, was a pattern he was spiralling into himself.

In the past, various effects have been used on his voice to separate the Mac in the song from the real man. There is no such studio trickery here. He lays his feelings out straight and true for the listener. This Old Dog, possibly the best song in DeMarco’s canon so far, exposes the truth behind the man, as he trades the electric guitar of his live shows for an acoustic. A gorgeous wash of synths carry the modern folk song through its chorus – ‘This old dog ain’t about to forget, as long as my heart’s beating in my chest.’ 

So yes, this is a slightly new direction but it is still quintessentially Mac DeMarco – the best troubadour in the business today.

Big fan of Mac? Check out our live review from his Manchester show here.