Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco dropped “One Wayne G'' on April 21, an enormous compilation album of 199 songs with mostly unfinished tracks, many dating back to 2018.
Though I didn’t listen to his previous album “Five Easy Hot Dogs” before “One Wayne G,” I find myself listening to his song “My Kind of Woman'' every time I think I’ve found the love of my life. This song is one of my favorites on DeMarco’s 2012 album “2.”
“One Wayne G” is nearly nine hours long and it only took 34 minutes listening to strictly instrumental music for it to bore me to death.
“20180913” was one of the last songs I listened to before I stopped listening.
I’m not sure if the track stood out to me because of the uptempo rhythm, or the fact that DeMarco hummed the entire song, but I was desperate to hear just a chord of his voice.
I wished he could have saved the song for a later album instead of throwing “20180913” in a sea of background music.
It’s a shame the album is mostly instrumental, because DeMarco’s voice and songwriting makes him one of my favorite alternative/indie artists.
I had to scroll through many untitled tracks, only marked by the date it was recorded, to finally hear him sing. Even then, those few titled songs were nothing special compared to his more popular tracks.
“20221102 The Truth” sounds like the same three guitar chords playing throughout the song, but it is accompanied by semi-decent lyrics.
“So I’d better go, leave her alone / And keep my heart from the truth / The truth.”
Although the lyrics are super vague, I’m biased to liking any of DeMarco’s songs that fall in the love song category.
“20221102” reminded me of his song “For the First Time” from “This Old Dog,” which is what I listened to right after for a reminder of what DeMarco sounds like at his full potential.
I can’t say listening to “One Wayne G'' was a complete waste of my time.
There were songs that made me both crack a smile and cringe which is better than the utter indifference I had to the rest of the songs.
“20200816 She Want The Sandwich'' is the perfect example of why alternative/indie artists are ridiculed for making random lyrics sound deep. DeMarco describes a sandwich while simultaneously destroying his image as a respected musician at the same time.
“She want the sandwich, baby / She want the sandwich, baby / Lettuce and tomato, baby / With Mayo on a roll, I’ll go anywhere she goes.”
I know diehard DeMarco fans could argue this song exemplifies the simplicity of love, doing normal things for and with a significant other, but it seemed like straight-up delusion to me.
“20200823 Inside the Beaver’s Dam” also has no deeper meaning outside of describing a beaver’s family dynamics, but it made me burst out laughing when I heard the lyrics.
“Inside the beaver's dam / The beaver’s wife is grumpy / Because the beaver’s lazy / But still loves him like crazy / Baby.”
Viewing the song from a satirical point of view was the only way I could finish the 70 second track.
Another track on the album that humors me is “20210215 Ball For The Coach,” because I genuinely have no idea what DeMarco is rambling about.
It sounds like a diss track aimed at a jock that used to bully him in high school.
“Are you happy now? / Playing ball for the coach / You filthy f*cking cockroach.”
The song ends with an abrupt laugh, so I hope for DeMarco’s sake these songs were not meant to be taken seriously.
“20210218 Round Here” is one of the tracks on the album that strays away from the alternative/indie genre that I normally associate DeMarco with, as he dips into a folksy and twangy sound instead.
I have nothing against that, but I also couldn’t take it seriously because DeMarco opens the song with the line “Let that hippy hair down.” I understand these tracks are unfinished demos, but he really should’ve kept them in the drafts.
I won’t be playing a single track on “One Wayne G” again anytime soon, but I know it will be playing at a local hipster plant shop somewhere.
For readers planning to check out DeMarco's newest album, I implore you to time yourself on how long you can listen before you delete your music app for allowing him to crowd it with nearly 200 shitty songs.
