This Old Dog
| Mac Demarco
This Old Dog
This Old Dog is the third full-length album by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mac DeMarco, released on May 5, 2017 through Captured Tracks. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
On his third album, the antics of Mac DeMarco are muted in favor of his impeccable songwriting, which shines through more than ever with warmth and precision.
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Spill Magazine
A remarkable singer-songwriter producing more incredible work.
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Consequence of Sound
The Pepperoni Playboy shelves the antics this time out and instead turns inward.
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Culture Collide
This Old Dog flaunts Mac’s true essence. It is beautiful, depressing and strangely hopeful.
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The Guardian
Serious themes, stoned demeanour.
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NME
Canadian songwriter swaps his goofy, fun-guy reputation for some intense soul-searching.
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Rolling Stone
He’s best when he’s more earnest, both lyrically and melodically.
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Stereogum
This Old Dog renders him a more relatable songwriter, one capable of connecting on an emotional level without giving up his ceaseless pursuit of tranquility. Turns out there’s a human being behind that wagging tongue after all.
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Get Some Magazine
This Old Dog is a remarkable, multifaceted album any way you slice it.
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The 405
With a mature and simplistic ease, Mac DeMarco shows us his dark side on This Old Dog.
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Crack Magazine
This Old Dog is his best record yet.
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SPIN
Mac DeMarco Soberly Embraces Adulthood on the Heartfelt This Old Dog.
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Drowned in Sound
This Old Dog is the sound of an artist on top of his game. An artist shedding every inch of wackiness from his bone and sounding all the better for it.
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NPR
Growing Up And Getting Personal.
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Paste Magazine
This Old Dog uncovers much more of DeMarco’s enlightening lyricism, laying bare his emotive underbelly with opuses drenched in California malaise and millennial indifference.
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Noctiluca
A few minor tweaks took him from making purely enjoyable music, to becoming a truly great artist with one of the best albums of last year.
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Rockhaq
A joyful and touching record.
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Soul Feeder
A proper release.
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Clash Music
Perhaps his most essential chapter yet...
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LemonWire
“This Old Dog” is DeMarco’s strongest release.
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Youtube Music Sucks
Full of truthful lyrics and excellent songwriting.
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Exclaim!
DeMarco shows us that he's a lot more complicated than he seems.
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Northern Transmissions
The most self-reflective version of DeMarco to date.
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A.V. Club Music
He’s made a laid-back album that is probably best listening to lying down, halfway into a nap. But that doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
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All Music
In all, This Old Dog is a logical continuation of DeMarco's musical explorations, but the maturation of his songwriting is what gives it gravitas.
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Outline Magazine
In terms of the music, everything this guy touches is still turning to gold. No complaints here.
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The Fire Note
Mac DeMarco dives deep for one of his most engaging records to date.
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Immortal Reviews
Mac DeMarco Sounds At Home In "This Old Dog".
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Transistor
It could soundtrack another alcohol fueled campfire gathering with some of its trademark stylings, just don’t be surprised if you end up a bit existential.
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DIY Mag
It sees our protagonist at his most mellow and introspective.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
So on to the outer spheres, to the celestial movements that govern those of our globe we go, contemplation of which I’m sure you’ll agree is a loftier and more edifying business than the sordid character-based speculation you’ll find here.
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Sputnik Music
The DeMarco interview we've yet to see.
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Slant Magazine
It’s encouraging to see DeMarco explore the darker side of life.
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The Needle Drop
Mac DeMarco matures as a songwriter on This Old Dog, his best album since 2.
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Matthew Coyte
The king of airy, indie-folk has made his triumphant return.
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XS Noize
Mac De Marco returns with a new album, “This Old Dog”, bringing a new dimension to his twangy, wistful and heartfelt style.
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SCAN
He hasn’t tried moving into another genre, he hasn’t needlessly attempted to shoe-horn in features that don’t belong, he has kept us sweet with the sound that made him an indie God and has done so effortlessly and in a way that screams ‘that is so Mac DeMarco’.
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Too Many Blogs
The pacing is perhaps more consistent this time around and he turns the spotlight on himself more than previously, but essentially this is another fine entry in an already charming and endearing career.
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Rainy Dawg Radio
This album makes for easy listening in true Demarco fashion. While it personally isn’t my favorite work from him, it still has great moments and is still a strong album.
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Loud And Quiet
It feels a touch weary by the end, but the guy had to change, and now your mum’s going to like him too.
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For Folk's Sake
For fans new and old, the best part is hearing DeMarco making himself very comfortable and welcoming us all into the intimacy of his thoughts.
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Let It Happen
A dark Mac Demarco record seems like an odd concept at first thought. Mac tackles this head on, and doesn’t once let it hinder him from making a solid record.
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RIOT
One of the most triumphant highlights of This Old Dog comes with the recurring exploration of synthetic sounds.
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Vinyl Chapters
Mac DeMarco is back with a new record, and it’s a more polished affair to get really excited about.
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La Vista
“This Old Dog” offers an impressive, matured sound reminiscent of his previous work.
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ABC
Following on from his mini-LP in 2015, album number three is a more introspective and downbeat affair.
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Headstuff
Mac Demarco Is Melodic And Lonely On This Old Dog.
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The Times
His simple, laid-back songs are reflective, with wisdom and sadness belying not only his goofball demeanour, but also his tender 27 years.
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CLOUD CITY SOUND
There really isn’t anything here that shouldn’t be there or anything that’s missing from this album.
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Hollie Songbird
I believe that this has to be his best album
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mxdwn Music
This Old Dog is cool, effortless, and truly one of a kind.
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Half&Half
Mac Demarco is back and, dare I say, better than ever.
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Fortitude Magazine
Whichever way the mood-pendulum swings, it is clear that there is a tangible mass to This Old Dog, a quality that has arguably gone amiss in his otherwise unsullied songwriting in the past.
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Daily Emerald
‘This Old Dog’ delivers an anticipated evolution.
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Backseat Mafia
Demarco is a songwriter first and foremost here.
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No Depression
This Old Dog, DeMarco’s third record, shows a more serious side of the young singer-songwriter.
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The Odyssey
This Old Dog Is Solid, Subdued.
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The Gryphon
Mac is capable of combining both wit and sensitivity into songs, a quality that makes him such a talented musician.
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The Paper Wolf
'This Old Dog’ Provides Summertime Melodies.
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Ride the Tempo
With This Old Dog, Mac DeMarco continues to show the world he isn’t just some crazy persona who makes for good internet content, but a real sensitive man too.
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Chorus.fm
The once-dubbed “prince of indie rock” is handing in his slacker-pop crown for something more transparent, more visceral and something that fits just a little bit better.
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Pioneer Log
For all of my issues with these tracks, it’s hard not to like them. I’ll admit, Mac has his own style of music, and he consistently does it well.
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Shameless Pen
If you couldn’t tell, I absolutely adore this album.
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Contact Music
"Extraordinary".
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Tenement Trail
With each new project, the Mac formula becomes more refined and solidified, although there is always a new flavour in the mix or a unique method of presenting his innate style.
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Radio Trails
The long-awaited release features the same twangy feel-good sound that Mac Demarco is known for, while also experimenting with the introduction of more synth-y sounds, like in On The Level.
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The Boar
Mac DeMarco fine-tuning his sound.
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The Stanford Daily
Mac DeMarco does dad rock his way on ‘This Old Dog’.
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The Fountain
Despite being somewhat reminiscent of earlier material, Mac DeMarco delivers a tight third album with a new sombre edge, deliberating on the trials of growing up and coming into one’s own.
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The Monitors
What really stands out is the openhearted nature of Mac DeMarco’s lyrics. Sure it may not be quite as immediate as his previous work, but it’s different. It’s a progression. And it’s brave.
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Narc Magazine
There’s hope for the gap-toothed ragamuffin yet: standout track On the Level possesses hints of kitschy 80s electronica, scattered across a soft bed of melancholic lyricism. Perhaps, then, we should excuse DeMarco this time, on account of his being down in the dumps.
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since i left you
We’ve never seen the old dog side of DeMarco before, but self-analysis isn’t a new trick. He’s simply revealed another great layer that makes up the whole.
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Musically Proper
Mac DeMarco's fifth album for Captured Tracks features his most dynamic work to date – and it might even make you cry. This Old Dog is pure gold.
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Pretty Much Amazing
Needless to say, Dog is a heavy album—the most emotionally swollen of DeMarco’s albums to date, in fact. But that doesn’t make it any less palatable.
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The Ringer
He’s a singer-songwriter worthy of praise but not hyperbole.
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Radio UTD
Mac DeMarco has matured with This Old Dog.
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Cecil Daily
“This Old Dog” is a fun, easy listen, like most of the rest of his solo material. But DeMarco is a genuine somebody in the music scene nowadays, and the bar has risen. The old dog just doesn’t reach it here.
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Scad Radio
This Old Dog is Fresh, But Not Fresh Enough.
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Journal Star
Mac DeMarco grows up on 'This Old Dog'.
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Tuppence Magazine
Mac DeMarco returns after some time out – matured and with his most thoughtful album to-date.
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The Rider Online
While This Old Dog doesn’t reinvent the wheel for Mac Demarco, anyone who was put off by his previous records may take interest in this album’s subtlety and lyrical change in tone. But those craving songs about his wild adventures will be taken aback by the mildly-serious subject matter.
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Big Issue
Canadian lo-fi singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco makes heavy emotion sound typically effortless in his family drama of a third album This Old Dog.
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Boomkat
‘This Old Dog’ is rooted more in a synth-base than any of his previous releases but he is careful not to let that tactic overshadow the other instruments and overall ‘unplugged’ mood of the work.
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Spectrum Culture
A great pop record that’s just a little sadder and world-wearier than what’s come before.
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Summer Spins
There’s a saturation of singer-songwriters, but a lack of truly unique voices, and Mac has cruised his way to the top of the pack.
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Gigsoup Music
You could give any musician in the world a few chords and get them to write a song, but it takes a genius to create a great one, and that’s the difference.
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Silent Radio
It serves to say that the record shows a subtle new diversity between its tracks whilst retaining if not enhancing the best bits of his previous work: cheery melancholy, accessibility, catchiness and – though critical theory might hound me for saying so – fragments of the author himself.
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Washed
With This Old Dog, DeMarco invites the listener back into the fold with gusto, and the material connects like a punch to the gut.
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PORTFOLIO
DeMarco is true to his signature, easygoing sound and it makes for a laid back and effortless listen.
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The Daily Nexus
This Old Dog shows a change that had to happen not for the industry, but for himself.
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The Thin Air
This Old Dog wraps you in.
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Standard
A selection of unhurried, sun-dappled songs.
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WIUX
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, apparently, no one told Mac DeMarco.
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Under the Radar Mag
With This Old Dog, his distinctly DeMarco brand of baroque-infused folk is still built for the pauses in life but it feels a little steadier, and a little more self-aware.
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CORD
Mac allows himself to showcase his true lyrical capability and render himself a more relatable and respectable songwriter; one capable of vulnerability and maturation.
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Popdust
This Old Dog [is] one of the most interesting sadboi albums in a long time.
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The Skinny
Amid this listlessness, flashes of levity shine bright.
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The VLM
What This Old Dog continues to showcase is the deconstruction of DeMarco’s seemingly slack personal life. It is another mellow masterpiece, from the DIY musician who genuinely doesn’t seem to care about fame or money but solely about the music and platform of expression it offers.
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The Student Playlist
Mac DeMarco is one of the greatest crafters of the love song working today, as exemplified on his mellow third album ‘This Old Dog’.
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Loose Lips
By showing a maturity in both his lyricism and songwriting, DeMarco hasn't so much evolved, but wholeheartedly embraced the earnestness that previously lurked in the corners of his music.
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BFRX
A surprisingly upbeat ode about age, turning into your parents, and following in their footsteps – for better, or, begrudgingly, for worse.
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The Gourmet Bachelor
“This Old Dog”, his third full-length album, finds DeMarco maturing as an artist- grappling with his broken-home upbringing and reflecting thoughtfully on family, friends, self and love.
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Diamond in the Groove
Certainly a commendable step in the right direction.
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Hey Listen
The inclusion of more electronics and synths on this album, along with slower ballads, shows Demarco's growth as a musician, and artist.
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Billboard
DeMarco has crafted what may be his most compelling, cautionary and oddly enough, comforting album yet.
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Omnian Music Group
Despite the changes considered during the creation of This Old Dog, Mac DeMarco's mid-twenties masterpiece, it's clear that the engine that motors him is in no danger of slowing down.
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MCR Live
Overall, this is Mac’s most nuanced album.
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The Concordian
In Mac Demarco's last album, This Old Dog, he delivered a moody blue wave collection of songs that brought easy listening to the next level.
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Scottsdale Music Academy
He plays every instrument featured in his songs and has created a unique style for himself. His music is refreshingly honest, especially on this album, which thrives off acoustic guitar and melodic phrases.
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The Review
‘This Old Dog’ disappoints.
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WHUS Radio
Overall, the album has lots of great tracks, filled with nice sounds from Mac DeMarco’s usual kit of acoustic guitars, warbly synths and electric guitars, and simple yet pleasing drums and bass lines.
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