Demarco, Mac / This Old Dog
Album: This Old Dog   Collection:General
Artist:Demarco, Mac   Added:May 2017
Label:Captured Tracks  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2017-05-18 Pull Date: 2017-07-20
Week Ending: Jul 23 Jul 16 Jul 2 Jun 25 Jun 18 Jun 11 Jun 4 May 28
Airplays: 2 6 4 4 6 7 9 11

Recent Airplay
1. Sep 28, 2024: The Vinyl Frontier
On The Level
4. May 21, 2023: sound of science
My Old Man
2. May 10, 2024: Music Genealogy
My Old Man
5. Apr 15, 2023: Vinyls from the Attic
This Old Dog
3. Jun 18, 2023: sound of science
For The First Time
6. Apr 09, 2023: sound of science
Baby You're Out, My Old Man

Album Review
Jabbering Encore
Reviewed 2017-05-11
Mac DeMarco’s third album is another helping of the winning slacker rock that he has made his name on. This time around, it’s a more melancholy affair, with DeMarco’s lyrics concerning his absentee father and the singer’s efforts not to repeat his old man’s mistakes. Save for the occasional drum machine or keyboard, these are acoustic tunes that suggest that DeMarco’s been listening to James Taylor or Jackson Browne—y’know, dad rock—save for “Moonlight on the River”, a seven-minute amble that ends in a squall of guitar noise. On the whole, very easygoing fare, even if the tracks tend to blur a bit.

FCCs: 9
Favorites: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11

1) “My Old Man” (3:42) – Laid-back acoustic guitar strummed over a gentle drum machine. DeMarco sings about aging and “seeing more of my old man in me,” to his dismay.
2) “This Old Dog” (2:31)* – DeMarco takes a stab at folk-pop on this gentle acoustic tune. A short and sweet love song in the vein of James Taylor.
3) “Baby You’re Out” (2:38) – Another acoustic number. Bouncy percussion makes this song noticeably more upbeat than the ones before it, and about half of the ones after it.
4) “For the First Time” (3:02)* – More of a keyboard-driven track. The synthesizers are light and dreamy, very 1980s-esque. Sounds like a night chasing fireflies.
5) “One Another” (2:46) – Song shuffles along at a healthy pace, with some of DeMarco’s classic woozy guitar tone kicking in about a minute in.
6) “Still Beating” (3:02)* – Chiefly acoustic guitar, with some gentle electric guitar noodling. A lovely little song to an ex who he still cares about: “Honey, I cried too / You better believe it.”
7) “Sister” (1:18) – Lo-fi, even by this album’s standards. Feels more like an interlude.
8) “Dreams from Yesterday” (3:27)* – The drum machine and keyboards return for a bossa nova-inspired song. Very easy to snap along to.
9) “A Wolf Who Wears Sheeps Clothes” (2:49) – FCC “shit.” A bit of a louder track, with more prominent drums, electric guitar riffs, and harmonica.
10) “One More Love Song” (4:01)* – Piano forms the basis of this song, especially in the chorus. Guitar and keyboards are still there, but it’s a lovely change of pace.
11) “On the Level” (3:48)* – Keyboard chords and a chintzy synthesizer make for another song that sounds like it was ripped out of the 1980s. Also concerns coming to terms with his father.
12) “Moonlight on the River” (7:03) – What starts as an acoustic shuffle combusts into an extended electric guitar outro with all kinds of delay and feedback effects. The outro may not hold every listener’s attention, so it may be best to fade out shortly after the effects start.
13) “Watching Him Fade Away” (2:23) – A hushed, intimate closer. Over a cheap-sounding keyboard, DeMarco ponders the impending death of his father—a man who he lost years before.

Track Listing
1. My Old Man   8. Dreams From Yesterday
2. This Old Dog   9. A Wolf Who Wears Sheeps Clothes
3. Baby You're Out   10. One More Love Song
4. For The First Time   11. On The Level
5. One Another   12. Moonlight On The River
6. Still Beating   13. Watching Him Fade Away
7. Sister   .