Mac DeMarco : Guitar
On Mac DeMarco’s sixth studio album, the aptly named Guitar, the Canadian-born now Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has smoothed out his edges and sanded down his previously heavier sound to create a collection of relaxed, yacht-ready tracks. In true Mac DeMarco fashion, who has never shied away from being candid (like when he provided his address and invited fans to have a coffee with him at his house in the Rockaways at the end of 2015’s Another One), he even wrote the press release himself. It’s short and sweet, no grand statement about the album’s thesis. In it, DeMarco writes, “I think Guitar is as close to a true representation of where I’m at in my life today as I can manage to put to paper.” Throughout its 12 tracks, it’s clear this is simply a telling of Mac’s current reality, one that goes down smoothly and provides a comforting relatability.
DeMarco wrote and recorded Guitar alone at his home in Los Angeles, only outsourced the mastering to David Ives. There’s a new sense of intimacy on these songs compared to its predecessor, 2023’s Five Easy Hot Dogs, which leaned on synths and instrumentals far more than DeMarco’s singing. Here, it feels like the earlier days of his discography, like catching up with Mac over a cup of coffee. His lyrics are both light in their delivery and heavy in their implications, like on “Terror” when DeMarco sings “I am terrified of dying / That old gift we all receive.” It feels like many of the songs on Guitar find DeMarco in a place of both gratitude and worry—he has found comfort in his current station, but the fears of darker times can’t help but creep in. It’s a sentiment many of us find ourselves facing these days, and DeMarco’s exploration of it comes with catharsis.
While Guitar provides a space for DeMarco to create warm, acoustic driven tracks, its downside lies in the lack of experimentation. The album’s tracks are certainly soothing, and Demarco’s lyrical style goes down easy, but after a certain point, it becomes hard to decipher one track from another. Opening track “Shining” is sweet and yearning, with “Terror” melodically sounding like the opener’s sibling. DeMarco’s strengths have always been his nonchalant approach to both lyrics and instrumentation, but on Guitar, a few more bold choices may have served him and the music better.
As DeMarco hits his thirteenth year of releasing music, his songwriting approach has greatly matured, without sacrificing his relaxed sense of humor. Here, his humor shines through best on the closing track “Rooster” as he sings, “I don’t care / I’ll still rise up with the rooster.” It’s a cheeky way of reminding us all that the wacky Mac we’ve all grown to love will keep working, writing, and creating the charming music that he makes best.
Label: Mac’s
Year: 2025
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Mac DeMarco : Guitar
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