Review: Mac Demarco - Here comes the cowboy
With Mac DeMarco, it is easy to assume that what you see is what you get. Previously, when many people thought of him they thought of a laid back, unpretentious artist who doesn’t seem to take himself or the world too seriously. This reputation as a lovable goof is what has drawn many people to his music; however, behind the songs about cigarettes, the on-stage antics and the lovable gap-toothed smile, lies a wounded, insecure and deeply emotional man. This side to DeMarco was recently bravely put on full display throughout 2017’s ‘This Old Dog’: an album that sees Mac delve deeper into the truths behind his public persona whilst remaining true to his prior musical persona.
Demarco’s latest album, “Here Comes the Cowboy” contrastingly finds great difficulty in reconciling these two personas. It is unable to deliver on the quirky charm of ‘2’, the smooth lazy summer jams of ‘Salad Days’, or even the mature refinement and honesty of ‘This Old Dog’. In a recent interview with Eve Barlow of Huck Magazine, DeMarco confessed that his persona is ‘not up to him anymore’. He adds that his music and personality are ‘no longer his’ and his true emotional experiences of anxiety, depression and even alcoholism are elements of his persona that he tries to “not to put on display”. Trapped between these two guises, and yearning for both musical and emotional maturation, Mac DeMarco has found himself caught in a dilemma: Does he stay true to himself or to the expectations of his fans?
This crisis of fidelity is reflected within the music itself. The result is a record that is as every bit confused and in conflict with itself as DeMarco himself. Consisting of pale reflections of his previous work, subdued and forlorn acoustic guitar ballads, quickly juxtaposed by the very antithesis of these mature reflections with shallow, childish and desperately quirky tracks such as ‘Choo Choo’. Although usually renowned for his understated approach, ‘Here Comes The Cowboy seems to take this too far, resulting in a distinct lack of variety. The album leans too heavily upon the twangy country influence introduced in ‘This Old Dog’ and an uninspiring theme of repetition, thereby taking subtlety and simplicity to the extreme, resulting in watered down, lyrically repetitive tracks that are rhythmically indistinct from each other, immediately fading into obscurity.
Listening to ‘Here Comes The Cowboy’, we contemplate that perhaps DeMarco applies this nonchalant cowboy veil as a means of escaping himself and fully confronting the inner turmoil he’s experiencing. Just as in many of the promotional music videos for this album, it seems that DeMarco is hiding, more evidently than ever, behind a mask.
In my opinion, ‘Here Comes The Cowboy’ is an album that can be summarised by it’s album artwork: An overly simplistic, yet, well intentioned LP that is trying desperately to brandish a smile. We can only hope that this slump within DeMarco’s discography represents a chrysalis into a new bold, self-assured and serene artist.
