The last few years have been filled with an air of uncertainty and unease for Mac DeMarco fans like myself. In 2022, while on tour, DeMarco ominously spoke about a potential end to his musical career, saying “after this tour, there's nothing on the books … maybe I'll never be back.” Though 2023 saw him release One Wayne G — an album which compiled 199 unreleased songs and demos — the album continued to fuel rumors of retirement: after all, why would an artist release so many demos unless they planned on leaving the world of music behind altogether? To the relief of many, DeMarco clarified later on that he would continue releasing music, and his latest studio album Guitar released on August 22.
Although tonally similar to some of his previous work, Guitar abandons the synthesizers and unique electric guitar tones that dominated albums like Salad Days (2014), This Old Dog (2017) and Here Comes the Cowboy (2019) in favor of the most basic essentials: acoustic guitar, bass guitar, drums and more reserved electric guitar parts. This departure becomes immediately noticeable on “Shining,” the opening track. The song introduces the higher falsetto voice that DeMarco frequently makes use of throughout the album, with light acoustic guitar, a rich bass tone and light drumming enhancing his vocals. “Shining” also introduces one of the main themes of the album: the complexities and troubles of love. The lyrics focus on the struggle a person feels regarding their uncontrollable emotions and his inability to fully commit to a woman in his life.
In “Sweeter,” the speaker attempts to convince a past lover who he has hurt to try a relationship with him again. DeMarco’s soft vocals and light, high-pitched guitar chords contrast with the implication that the speaker has hurt this person multiple times over. This results in a siren’s call of sorts — a beautiful-sounding song with haunting undertones.
“Phantom” follows a slower tempo, with a bass line and guitar chord changes that mainly descend in pitch, representing the feeling of melancholy consuming the speaker. DeMarco focuses on the way that lost lovers can almost feel like ghosts in our lives, lingering in our minds and reminding us of mistakes and bygone times. This slower, more melancholic tone continues on “Nightmare,” which depicts the inner monologue of someone reflecting on their mistakes in the midst of a failing relationship. Though one of the less interesting songs from an instrumental standpoint, the chorus features a unique, powerful vocal delivery by DeMarco.
A slow electric guitar riff follows DeMarco’s vocals brilliantly throughout “Terror,” with simple bass and drum filling out the rest of the space. The speaker continues to reflect on many of the errors in his life, expressing his realization that he should pursue something meaningful with his partner rather than continue to jeopardize their future together. Electric guitar serves a similar mirroring purpose on “Rock and Roll,” but in this case the lyrics focus on the effect a life of stardom as a musician has on his personal life and his ability to express himself. The song’s second half features instruments unaccompanied by DeMarco’s vocals, perhaps suggesting that a life in the music world has removed the speaker’s ability to truly speak his voice.
“Home,” the album’s debut single, focuses on the difficulties of returning to a place of former belonging due to the faces and memories found there. The instrumentation on the track, especially the main guitar part, struck me as some of the most interesting on the album as a whole.
The speaker describes the tumultuous nature of their relationship on “Nothing At All,” where a slow, heartbeat-like bass line and lead guitar accents help add a sense of richness to the track. “Punishment” also features a very pleasing bass line and lead guitar part, with the guitar riff sounding almost western in inspiration. The speaker speaks about their lack of care of material possessions and sole desire to keep their soul and voice.
“Knockin’” is built around a slow, march-like drum beat and bass line which compliment the speaker’s commentary on how many bad memories and anxieties in our mind seem to come marching or “knocking” down on our minds at opportune moments. In “Holy” the guitar and bass song bounce back and forth between two main chords and bass notes, creating a sense of tension. DeMarco convincingly delivers lyrics which discuss a person’s deep desire for a miracle to save them from their despair.
The album’s last track, “Rooster,” delivers a very interesting guitar riff that sounds almost harp-like. This sound, combined with DeMarco’s haunting vocals, create a haunting energy which is only compounded by the discordance in the song’s chorus. The song’s lyrics refer ambiguously to either the end of the speaker’s relationship with their partner or death itself, resulting in a fitting song to round out the album.
Overall, Mac Demarco successfully delivered a compelling work that feels uniquely quiet and intimate, mainly due to the vulnerability of his vocal performances. The fact that DeMarco wrote every song and performed all of the instruments on the album serves to heighten this sense of intimacy. DeMarco’s songwriting on the album also feels vaguely reminiscent of some of the quieter work released by The Beatles and in the solo careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison; the similarities between DeMarco’s voice and Lennon’s voice make this similarity even more apparent. This pseudo-familiarity made the album feel oddly nostalgic, even on first listen, adding to the comforting sound that pervades the album (including some of the songs with darker material).
At a glance, Guitar may not seem to be as complex or spellbinding as some of DeMarco’s previous work. However, the true beauty of the album comes from appreciating DeMarco’s vocals and lyrics, which are allowed to shine in full force when surrounded by the scaled back instrumentation on each track.
Matthew Rentezelas is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at mmr255@cornell.edu.
