Is the Pepperoni Playboy growing up? Mac DeMarco might still only be 26 years old, but the new album he announced today suggests a serious, albeit cheekily titled, new direction. This Old Dog is due out on May 5 via Captured Tracks, and marks the full-length follow-up to 2014’s Salad Days (he released the mini-album Another One in 2015).
Mac has been sitting on the new material for a while now, writing it shortly before he moved from Queens to Los Angeles last year. “I demoed a full album, and as I was moving to the West Coast I thought I’d get to finishing it quickly,” he said in a press release today. “But then I realized that moving to a new city, and starting a new life takes time. Usually I just write, record, and put it out; no problem. But this time, I wrote them and they sat. When that happens, you really get to know the songs. It was a different vibe.”
Explaining the more low-key approach to his signature sound, he continued, “The majority of this album is acoustic guitar, synthesizer, some drum machine, and one song is electric guitar. So this is a new thing for me. This is my acoustic album, but it’s not really an acoustic album at all. That’s just what it feels like, mostly. I’m Italian, so I guess this is an Italian rock record.” Hear the first two supremely chill, endearingly titled songs below and preorder the rest of them on iTunes. Trust Mac to take the edge off after a very tense few days all over America.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Photography Adrian Mesko