Here Comes The Cowboy (studio album) by Mac DeMarco

A bit of disappointment after Salad Days and This Old Dog. But there are still some highlights - Nobody, K and All Of Our Yesterdays. Choo Choo is really quite annoying.

An album that I like, best track K

On This Old Dog, we were introduced to a mellower, wisened, existentially reflective Mac who was attempting to get away from his goofball image through refining his songwriting and maturing his lyricism. On Here Comes the Cowboy we get...a mellower, wisened, existentially reflective Mac pursuing further an attempt at getting away from his goofball image through refining his songwriting and maturing his lyricism...except for a totally unnecessary opening track. This time around, with the exception of a couple tracks, the sound is cleaned up and distilled to the point where it feels like his enjoyment of songcraft is - to quote the man himself - fading away. A disappointingly shallow album.

In the first notes of the fifth album of the slack-rocker Mac DeMarco, a question arises: would the singer-songwriter be taking us somewhere else? It will soon be down on earth, this introduction very Rocky Racoon was only illusion. From the second track, the single "Nobody", we find this good old Mac who scratches his strings detuned in jangle pop mode, who sings without too much hurry. We wait patiently for a few songs to find something new. The sixth track is called "Choo Choo", an obscure jam with more funk and tempo. Once again, we're there, great, we're getting on board with you, Mac ... and it falls back into his comfort zone right after. But it's always nice to listen to some Mac DeMarco!

5/10

From DeusExMackia 06/04/2019 19:49

Uber laid-back, total no-care attitude at its peak. DeMarco gets too lazy for his own good at parts on Here Come's The Cowboy, especially on the first half. And who the actual f*ck knows what Choo Choo is about.

Look past the weaker moment, especially from 'K' onwards however, and it's as competent as a daisy chain, and just as delicate too. There's a potency to the thoughts conveyed in his lyrics, and the closeness you get almost makes the record feel like you're in some lounge session with the bloke as he takes requests for the evening.

One for the fans, no doubt - it's a hard sell that's for sure - but it's that very nature that makes it such a lush, quaint record. Companionship in every note, with a stellar roundness to the production and and a mute, green-washed warmth to its delivery.

I feel like Mac's getting burned out. Sure, he was burned out on Salad Days, but he was able to channel his laziness into an artistic theme and signature sound. Here for the most part he just sounds like he's given up. There are some great songs on here like On The Square and Nobody, but most of the album is just filler.

From Cargusbralem 05/14/2019 19:55

It has some good tracks on it, a lot of 70s rock vibe with Mac Demarco's signature sound. Kind of the equivalent of King Gizzard's new LP, come to think of it. It does get a little boring at times, but it is definitely worth a listen.

One thing I don't get is the point of having the opening track be an undoubtedly completely filler track, which is also the album title track.

Fav tracks: All of Our Yesterdays, Little Dogs March, Finally Alone

From awesomness425 05/14/2019 19:40

This feels like an album Mac was supposed to release a few years later into his career. Anyways, it kinda feels like a bunch of soft rock covers of popular songs in the 70's that you'd find in a dollar bin at wal-mart. There is something that's so niche that makes you enjoy it, but not enjoy to return often

Uneven and often severely under-cooked, but not as large of a misstep as some critics have made it out to be.

This record is the sound of an exhausted man letting his mind wander and not meddling with the product too much. I think I heard somewhere that this was recorded in two weeks and I believe it. It's more of a tired stream of consciousness than a fully-realized product.

There's an honest kind of intimacy that it delivers with its simplicity, but his finest record "This Old Dog" certainly did so in a more convincing way.

Here Comes The Cowboy has its moments (primarily the singles, which were all solid), but it's Mac's weakest album.

Favorite Tracks: Finally Alone, K, Nobody, On the Square

Least Favorite: Choo Choo

From luigybetis 05/10/2019 13:19

Solid album, Mac is still making great songs even by keeping close to his original style. Probably my favorite album of this year by today. 8+/10.