The latest album from Mac DeMarco is as confrontational as it is long. As a result of the endless short-form content we consume every day, our attention spans are slowly decreasing. From TikTok to Instagram reels, the human race’s ability to sit down and read a book, watch a three-hour long movie, or listen to a ten-minute song is slowly yet surely shrinking.
Featuring 199 songs, Mac DeMarco’s self-released compilation album One Wayne G is nine hours and thirty minutes long. To put that into perspective, it’s as long as the amount of time it takes to fly from Dubai to Bali with 20 minutes to spare. If it ever came out on vinyl, it would be the first-ever 20-disc record set.
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Basically, the Canadian artist compiled a few pages of his musical journal entries between 2018 and 2023 into a single project, consisting of demos and pieces that were never completed. In order to provide listeners with a glimpse into his musical timeline, each track is named with a specific date.
The title of the one-of-a-kind album is a nod to the Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretsky. The album itself had no context and was a surprise release following his previous album Five Easy Hot Dogs– also a diary in its essence, the album is composed of 14 instrumentals made on a spontaneous solo road trip, where each track is named after the city it was recorded in.
DeMarco, known for his unconventional-ness, and admirable Canadian quirk, explains in an interview with The Associated Press, “It’s a self-portrait, that’s essentially what One Wayne G is, it’s five-years of me.”
The album’s sound takes you through the brain of DeMarco– a viewfinder into the quintessential sound and feel of Mac DeMarco. As he always tends to pose existential questions and answers them in a breezy manner with his laid back melodies and soothing vocals. One Wayne G is definitely one for the books, especially in trying times where everything is bite-sized, causing masses to self-diagnose themselves with ADHD. By sharing his musical diary with the world, DeMarco is reminding us to slow down. Without a doubt, this album is yet another testament to his ongoing ability to experiment whilst telling a story.
