Throughout the past few years, more specifically since 2019, modern-day lo-fi indie rock icon Mac DeMarco has stayed on the quieter side. While the past few years have included instrumental releases and collections of demos and rough drafts, the internet’s favorite guitar-wielding multi-hyphenate hasn’t released a straightforward album since 2019’s Here Comes the Cowboy. The cigarette burn-sized hole that DeMarco has left in the modern music pantheon during his pseudo-hiatus is undeniable, and what caused the artist’s typically prolific output to halt is up in the air. Still, traces of the truth can be found on Guitar, DeMarco’s new studio album.
Written and recorded in less than two weeks, Guitar is an intimate return to form for DeMarco. With the artist keeping everything in-house, going as far as to shoot the cover and videos for these songs on a tripod, these twelve songs are a raw portrait of an artist we thought had already given us his all. DeMarco’s music has always carried the weight of melancholy with it. Still, Guitar finds the artist at his most vulnerable in years, almost as if these were the emotional ballads DeMarco had been trying to create all along.
This is a no-bells-or-whistles effort from DeMarco, staying true to the Guitar title by tying together string-driven emotional releases with jaw-dropping consistency. His falsettos reach a whimper, the guitar melodies cry with tears dripping upon nimble drum patterns; every movement on this quaint LP is poetic and welcoming. This isn’t the same downtrodden exploration of isolation that typically gives DeMarco’s music that overcast feeling; the artist is ripping open his soul and allowing all who wish to come and read the emotions that make DeMarco tick. Moments like “Punishment” and “Sweeter” are heartwrenching examples of this sentiment, with DeMarco’s moody guitar chords emphasizing the distress of the lyrics.
While the lyrics tell tales of pure strife, DeMarco’s production work is what drives home the level of honesty the artist has reached in his songwriting. The gorgeous whimsy of his previous releases has been replaced with rootsy, simplistic riffs that trickle out of the speakers. The album closer, “Rooster,” features some particularly moving guitar work that dances with soaring harmonies, while “Knockin” feels more like classic DeMarco production. The true magic of Guitar comes alive when DeMarco’s acrobatic vocals meet his lithe production. Songs like “Terror” and “Rock and Roll” find this sonic marriage in a loving embrace, with DeMarco’s high-pitched vocals wrapping around his simplified guitar work.
Guitar is a snapshot of where DeMarco currently sits in both his career and personal life, blurring the lines between the two as the artist pens heartfelt songs from the soul and sets them to hazy production. The album’s consistency could double as its downfall, as the artist dives headfirst into this sonic shift without a rearview mirror, leaving fans who were hoping for more of the sad charm of his previous work. DeMarco, though, did not become the indie rock juggernaut he is by staying complacent. Guitar moves DeMarco’s artistry one step further, leaving anyone not on board in the dust, and allowing those who remain to get a little bit closer to the man behind the music.
