Sheep’s Clothes, seem
to set a much more
toned
down
and
personal vibe than any
of his previous work.
Whilst
discussing
whether he struggled
with revealing so much
of himself within the
lyrics of This Old Dog,
he mentions that it
was almost accidental.
“Because I wrote a lot
of the songs without
thinking about them
being
made
into
a record, I wasn’t
thinking about how I
was gonna play them to
a bunch of people. You
don’t put up quite as
much of a barrier when
you’re writing songs
for the fun of writing
them.”
However,
Mac DeMarco reveals
that he’s completely
comfortable with the
content of the album,
as he’s happiest with
his music when it’s at
its most honest. “I’m
not afraid of it I guess,
well I mean I am in
some ways, but it’ll be
3
fine.”
This
Old Dog is
driven
by
acoustic
guitars,
l a y e r e d
with drum
machines
and
video
g a m e -
like
synth
keyboard
patterns,
with the majority
of melodies on the
album having an
incredibly
soothing
and simplistic sound.
The singer concludes
that this is largely due
to the artists that he
was listening to whilst
writing the album.
“There was a lot of
James Taylor and Paul
Simon, mostly acoustic
guitar/songwriter
musicians. I’ve also
been stuck on this
Japanese synthesiser
music hype for the
last three years or so,
and that’s generally
the sound that I tend
to move towards the
most.”
Before I even
ask, Mac DeMarco
starts to tell me
about the artwork
for the record - as if
he feels the need to
justify its’ doodles
and scribbles. “I just
drew it in my kitchen
one day, actually…”
Originally, he had an
old photo from a trip
to Disneyland with
his girlfriend that he
wanted to use, but
his team and himself
became rather terrified
at the thought of a
lawsuit from Disney,
as it featured a Mickey
Mouse Doll. “…But
the drawing just felt
right to me. It fits the
album and reminds
me of how I used to do
things many moons
ago” - referring to the
hand drawn artwork
included in the CD
booklets of Salad Days
and it’s predecessor,
debut album 2.
" Album leaks
are a fact of
life as a
musician "
During
his
Coachella set the day
before, Mac DeMarco
addressed the issue of
This Old Dog having
been leaked onto the
internet, almost an
entire month before
it’s official release date.
Unlike many other
artists of this era, he
seems to brush it off
relatively easily. “It’s
out of my hands, and
I, personally, don’t
care. Although I’m
pretty sure my record
label cares. But it’s
happened before with
both of my previous
albums, and I guess
it’s just an effect of
the internet nowadays
and a fact of life as a
musician.”
H a v i n g
performed an intimate
solo gig just two
weeks ago at London’s
Nambucca, and due to
play multiple shows
next month in the
UK as part of his tour
for This Old Dog, the
musician speaks about
his fears of
per forming
the
new
record live,
as “the songs
don’t sound
quite
like
they do on
the record”
because of the
impossibility
of recreating
d r u m
machines and certain
synth sounds in a live
setting. “Although my
band and I have played
a bunch of the new
songs over the last
week during a couple
of shows we’ve done
and it’s working out
cool - I’m enjoying it.”
Mac DeMarco returns to
the UK for two shows at
Brixton’s O2 Academy,
London on the 30th and
31st May, and for End
of The Road Festival
2017 from 31st August-
3rd September
Written by Tatjana
Harrington-Steward
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