DeMarco’s last true studio album, Five Easy Hot Dogs, was an entirely instrumental effort, and the title of his latest, Guitar, aptly suggests a continued focus on stripped-back instrumentals – but this time, DeMarco’s vocal presence is back, offering some sparse and meditative adages about home, aging, and continuing to find himself.

In today’s musical climate of excess rising to the top, the indie stalwart’s DIY, bare-bones and completely honest approach continues to be inspiring. That’s why to celebrate DeMarco’s triumphant return, we reached out to 12 of our favourite Canadian artists to participate in a peer review and sum up their feelings on the new album, track by track. 

 

Purity Ring
Track 1: “Shining”

LITTLE PRINCE DEMACO DOES IT AGAIN. Coming through with the golden sunshine of his sweet Canada charm. It’s so nice to see him back in our trusty homeland of lakes and forests and wandering plains. So nice to see him in a canoe. This song beams through the last few years like a clear day through the haze of a long ago memory. The sun still shines down! With a little timeless wisdom –  all the days have gone away now, but Mac still comes through. May he always, a man for the canon, a sweet serenade for all our hearts. Real nice sounding with all that analog gear too! Congrats Mark! [sic] 

 

Penny and the Pits
Track 2: “Sweeter”

Mac’s really got a knack for distilling complexities into just a few words – a skill most songwriters would kill for. Sweeter is so stripped back it’s almost not there, which makes it easy to hang on to every word. But for such a simple song, so gentle in its delivery, it immediately transported me to visceral memories of early relationships. Ah, toxic, codependent, puppy love. I hear a sour undertone in Sweeter, like a lullaby of empty promises. Mac is enticing us to believe that this time things will really be different “Sweeter / this time will be sweeter / I can be much sweeter”. But we’ve all been on both sides of this conversation, and we know that it’s rarely better the second time around. Some things never change. 

 

La Sécurité (Éliane Viens-Synnott)
Track 3: “Phantom”

This one’s a grower. It snuck up on me and hit me with that sweet kind of sadness. “Phantom” could be a pet, a person, a memory… doesn’t really matter. It’s about love, and Mac nails that bittersweet feeling with simple, catchy melodies—something he’s always done so well. You can hear how his sound’s gotten more polished over time, like a good wine aging, right? I’ve known Mac since we were teens, and truly, he’s one of the most genuine people I know. That honesty shines through in every note. A short tune, but man it lingers.

 

Georgia Harmer
Track 4: “Nightmare”

“Nightmare” begins suddenly, like waking up, or more likely – falling abruptly to sleep. The dream you fall into, however, is not immediately scary. It exists in a simple, lush landscape – one we’ve slipped into before, through the screen door of Mac’s more intimate songs. Dry drums, like the pads of bare feet running on a paved road, and crisp, gentle guitar strums, like light on a rippling lake, all loping along under the loon call of Mac’s voice. Maybe this is where the subtle, ghostly essence comes from. There is a touch of off-kilter-ness to his otherwise perfect delivery, as if everything is just slightly – intentionally – out of tune, detectable only by gut. “Smoke the whole pack, there’s no turning back from this one,” he sings, while floating in slow motion, away from the mouth of a tunnel.

 

TOPS (Jane Penny)
Track 5: “Terror”

Another great album from Mac. Terror is a scary song about blood and guts and love. Pretty upbeat instrumental but with spooky dark themes. Makes being a leech sound romantic, or does it suck?

 

Alex Little
Track 6: “Rock And Roll”

How I feel when I think about Mac is also how I feel when I listen to this song. It’s a nostalgia overload, sprinkled with a bit of excitement and sadness. When I was in my early 20’s attending Emily Carr University his band “Makeout Videotape” was the coolest and best band in town. I used to see him play all over Vancouver, and I was struck by his talent then. “Rock N Roll” has elements of The Velvet Underground mixed with the dreamiest Beatles moments all in one. The melody is haunting yet simple, and the lyrics make me wonder how he feels about where he is now. A truly beautiful song.

 

Dan Mangan
Track 7: “Home”

I like Mac in his 30s. Miraculously, he survived his role as chairman of the 2010s hipster culture gauntlet. Rather than burning out or fading away, he’s calmed the antics and distilled what his best quality was all along – he’s a great songwriter. The fragile calmness of Home is reminiscent of John Lennon’s solo work as he similarly recovered from Beatlemania. Brilliant melodies with unobscured conviction. He describes “home” as a place wrought with triggers and memories he’d rather not visit – and yet, the song itself is an ode to this place in his mind. It’s like melancholic nostalgia for a childhood Christmas morning but the parents are fighting. Broken sentimentality. It’s human, it’s direct, it’s short, it’s simple, and it’s truly beautiful.

 

Braden Lam
Track 8: “Nothing At All”

I’ll take any excuse to go for a drive. Facebook Marketplace deal? You bet. Sunset beach mission? Hell yeah. Drive over 2,000 KM to see Willie Nelson? No question. Guitar landed in my inbox just as I set off on said road-trip from Nova Scotia to New Hampshire. DeMarco’s “5 or less ingredients to success” was a balm of clarity to begin my long weekend. On Track 8 Nothing At All DeMarco sings of an intimate relationship that is hot and cold, up and down, aspiring then spiraling. Catchy lyrical hooks poking out amongst modulated acoustic guitar and familiar drum grooves put me in a self-reflective flow state. I’m most often overcome by this sense of peace while driving, any distractions silenced and my senses heightened. DeMarco holds my focus and gets us safely to the destination.

 

Alix Fernz
Track 9: “Punishment”

Mac DeMarco was one of the first artists who really pulled me into a whole new world of music back when I was 15 years old. His style opened the door to lo-fi, indie rock, and that hazy, bedroom-pop sound that I’m obsessed with now. I was kind of a little fanboy back then, binging his discography and trying to mimic his vibe, smoking viceroys and wearing vans! Listening to “Punishment” and his new album now, it’s like seeing that evolution continue while still holding onto the sound that got me hooked in the first place. “Punishment” blends Mac’s signature mellow vibe with darker, more introspective lyrics. While the smooth guitars and laid-back rhythm make it perfect for a bonfire, the song’s real power lies in its themes of self-punishment. The lyrics speak to inner struggles, past mistakes, and the inner questioning of self-worth. It might feel light at first, but its underlying complexity is what makes it so memorable.

 

CJ Wiley
Track 10: “Knockin”

I first got into Mac DeMarco in my late teens, that time when music feels like your whole world and becomes part of who you are. He was THE moment for me, my friends, and literally anyone into indie music back then. I remember so many house parties blasting 2, and those memories come rushing back every time I hear him now. With Guitar, his sound feels incredibly nostalgic, but there’s also a new timelessness and a maturity in his songwriting, and that really comes through in “Knockin.” It’s classic Mac—warm, laid back, and easy on the ears. Then a line like “letters that you wrote but never sent, knocking at your door, will you let ’em in?” hits me harder than I ever expected. Listening now, it’s like we’ve grown up together.

 

Absolute Losers
Track 11: “Holy”

I’ll always remember the harsh sound of my kayak scraping on pavement as I dragged it toward the beach at the end of my childhood street. I could handle the weight. The real struggle was keeping my Discman steady so it wouldn’t skip on my copy of Mac DeMarco’s then new album, 2. Mac’s music has always soundtracked my summers, and “Holy” is no different. The signature soft plunk, that vague cowboy swagger, the earnest delivery. And leave it to Mac to get this much mileage out of 25 words. I like “Holy” for the reason I like all of Mac’s music; it’s a dependable companion for quiet moments and solo adventures.

 

Skinny Dyck
Track 12: “Rooster”

I love Mac’s melancholy mid-fi.  I feel it on “Rooster” and throughout this album.  It’s got that honest and personal smirk quality about it.  The same kinda thing that first really got to me on This Old Dog – an album I really love.  The simple drums, dry vocal, guitar wobble, claves etc are signature Mac – understated and super intentional.  Earning your attention but never begging for it.  The kind of thing you can be absolutely digging and then also laugh at because there’s this veneer of irony.  He knows it.  It helps makes it smart.  The Mac ethos reveals itself in the contrast of the lower register cadence on the back section of the verse into the playful doubled vocal and I’m here for it.  No keyboards, just guitar – Guitar!