Canadian singer-songwriter and indie pop extraordinaire Mac DeMarco dropped his latest album “Guitar” on Aug. 22. The album serves as a return for DeMarco, not only as his first release in two years, but also as his first fully instrumental effort in over half a decade.

It has been a while since the public has heard DeMarco’s voice. In 2023, he released two albums: “Five Easy Hot Dogs,” a fully instrumental EP, and the sprawling, nine-hour “One Wayne G,” a largely instrumental compilation of nearly 200 demos and half-completed songs. Barring a few tracks on the latter that featured rough vocals, the last time DeMarco has even released an album featuring his singing was 2019’s “Here Comes the Cowboy.” 

In the half-dozen years since the release of that album, a great deal has transpired in the slacker rock icon’s personal life. Having once been an established member of the Los Angeles music scene, DeMarco, now 35, has since moved back to his native Canada. 

Once known for his tendency to chain-smoke, drink and freak out the neighborhood, he has been sober since 2022. Accompanying these developments is an increasing downturn in DeMarco’s presence in the public eye, excepting a brief spell of speculation over his potential retirement from music. So it was nothing short of a surprise when he announced plans earlier this year to release an album and begin touring again. 

“Guitar,” preceded earlier in the year by singles “Home,” “Holy” and “Phantom,” is an album that, despite featuring the same sound and production style as his recent works, showcases an expansion of his songwriting capabilities and general range in ways previously not demonstrated. 

While all of the longtime signature elements of DeMarco’s sound — the warbly acoustic guitars, sparse percussion and plucky bass — are still present, the minimal production of this album is more akin to “Here Comes the Cowboy” and his instrumental works than to older albums like “This Old Dog” and “Salad Days.” 

DeMarco appears to approach certain things — particularly lyrics and vocals — a little differently on this album. Opener “Shining” abruptly begins the album with DeMarco reaching a high, caterwauling falsetto, a shift from his trademark baritone vocals. This high vocal register, used only sparingly by DeMarco on earlier releases and perhaps further developed after he gave up smoking, is pervasive throughout “Guitar,” often leading to unique melodic choices. The chorus of “Nightmare” features a different display of DeMarco’s falsetto; he sounds semi-operatic as he recites the lyrics perhaps most relevant to his recent personal experiences: “Roll up those sleeves boy / Smoke the whole pack / There’s no turning back from this one”. 

Indeed, one of the particular strengths of “Guitar” is in its lyrical content. DeMarco isn’t so much a wordsmith as he is a hook-smith; a glance through the lyrics of his most popular songs will show that, while not untalented as a lyricist, he is more concerned with putting the right amount of syllables to his melody than winning a Pulitzer Prize. 

That being said, DeMarco’s lyrics shine on “Guitar,” particularly due to the emotion, personality and relevancy that they manage to evoke. Regret, fear and lost love are common themes, seemingly as reflections of DeMarco’s current emotional state. 

The album reaches its bleakest point on “Terror” when DeMarco sings, “I am terrified of dying / That old gift we all receive”, a lyric that only becomes more dismal when one considers that it might have been influenced by the passing of some of DeMarco’s relatives in the past few years. Single “Holy” finds the artist asking for a miracle to save him from an eternal curse that he believes clings to him. But “Guitar” is not all gloom and doom, and many tracks showcase the positivity that comes with DeMarco’s personal growth and maturation after over a decade in music. 

The ever-laidback DeMarco seems to be content to slow down and cool out a bit, a thought evidenced on tracks like “Rooster” when he says “Darling I don’t bite / at least not like I used to.” These lyrics, paired with the perpetually strong compositions and melodies produced by DeMarco, makes for a collection of songs that includes some of his strongest work yet.

Mac DeMarco’s “Guitar” is a true return for the indie legend, and not just in the sense that it’s his first to feature his vocals in half a decade. Though some might take issue with DeMarco’s lack of musical experimentation and find the production on the album somewhat stagnant, it is hard to deny that this album contains some of DeMarco’s strongest songwriting to date. Make no mistake, “Guitar” is worthy of a listen, because it proves that this old dog still has a few tricks left.