Here comes Mac, and on his own label! After a misleading opening of crooner country where the loops repeat relentlessly (Here Comes the Cowboy), we understand that DeMarco quickly put the first one aside. Already laid-back, the Canadian lays back even further. Slow speed, nonchalant orchestration, the Angelino displays a beautiful detachment. While the world is beating ever faster, Mac DeMarco is playing against the tide and against the clock. This appreciation for slowness manifests perfectly with the thirteen downtempo tracks in which the intimate is so wonderfully depicted. The 2019 Mac version of the lonesome cowboy lives on illusionary and disillusioned loves, and is frank but contradictory. He hates the city but wants it just as much. "Sick of the city locked in with all the pretty people / Need a vacation somewhere that no one ever dreamt to go / Out in the country tending to all the pretty cattle / Turns out the cowboy dreams of the city." A few groovy interludes (Choo Choo) add nuance the pop synth (On the Square) or to the cheap guitar (Hey Cowgirl) that Mac has become known for. A tip: let the last song (Baby Bye Bye Bye) play out to enjoy the delightful funk digressions mixed with his crazy laughter. The big festivals and successes of Salad Days (2014) and This Old Dog (2017) have certainly not painted him into a corner. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz