Continuing the countdown is one of the most charismatic artists on this list, making some of the silkiest Sunday afternoon tunes I've heard in a while - at 24 it's Mac Demarco with This Old Dog.
I feel like if you'd asked me to review this album after first listening in May, and then asked again now, the two reviews would be near on exactly the same. This is probably one of the only albums on the list that has held the same consistent feeling for me this whole year. Even speaking about the title song "This Old Dog" when it dropped here, I can see that my opinions haven't changed since.
As I said before, this album has received a lot of lazy Sunday afternoon plays and featured heavily on walks, but after seeing Mac live for the second time at Primavera Sound this year it really struck me just how different his performances are from his songs. His shows always feel pretty adrenaline driven, with the band really giving heaps of energy on stage, and so listening to this album to mellow out almost doesn't seem to make sense. However, Mac plays both sides of the coin effortlessly and never lets the differing tones affect the quality of his fantastic songwriting. This album is a prime example - jam after jam after jam.
My clear cut gems from This Old Dog are - "My Old Man", "Still Beating", "One More Love Song" and "On The Level". I feel like this record might just be Mac's best in regards to flow and cohesiveness. Every note seems deliberate. Despite it sounding effortless, the fact that he played every instrument and produced every note on this album; it becomes clearer and clearer with each listen just how much of Mac went into this. Perhaps Mac Demarco's most personal album yet and if I'm honest, perhaps my favourite of his so far. I'll be listening to this for many Sunday's to come.
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