Following his latest release only three months ago, Mac DeMarco returns with an unexpected album titled “One Wayne G.” Released on April 21, it’s a whopping 199 song album — eight hours and 43 minutes of demos, sketches and unfinished songs from the indie artist. Very different from his hits like “Chamber Of Reflection” and “Freaking Out the Neighborhood,” but similarly creates a unique listening experience. 

I found it to be the perfect album for studying — it was great background music that kept me focused while also providing a good beat. It’s largely instrumental and obviously got slow at times, but the funk and jazz elements featured on plenty of the songs kept it fresh. 

The song titles are very unusual. The tracks are chronologically ordered by the date they were created, with the majority named simply by the date they were recorded — only a few have actual song titles attached after the date. There’s something quite intimate about the titles being the dates he made them. Listeners are able to see DeMarco’s creative process as he put the songs together, while also being able to see stretches of time he created music with a certain mood based on how he was feeling — you can hear the change in his sound as the album progresses. This evolution of his music can be heard as the dates of the songs range from 2018 to 2023. 

Although he’s said many of these songs are just demos and leftover scraps, the unpolished rawness in these tracks make it feel personal. This proves to me how DeMarco disregards the public’s opinion and commercial success. He simply releases music he enjoys making, which I find really refreshing. 

However, I don’t think it’s a flawless album. Parts of the album felt repetitive, although that should be expected on a nearly nine hour album. Additionally, some tracks were quite odd, featuring metal banging and screeching noises that took me by surprise. 

Obviously this album isn’t for everyone, nor is it for every listening situation. But it’s nice lo-fi background music that is a refreshing addition to the funk and jazz genre. I wouldn’t recommend listening to it all in one sitting, but it’s not a bad album to put on shuffle while studying or cleaning your room. It may seem intimidating and like a throwaway album, but beneath the surface it’s a deeply personal project from DeMarco. Some highlights of the album are “20190724,” “20200820 Turn My TV On,” “20200817 Proud True Toyota” and “20190723.” 

It’s up for debate whether the release of this album means that DeMarco is finally retiring or not. It does seem like he offloaded all of his work in this album, and I believe this could be his final experimental yet personal release that is his sendoff to listeners. 

“One Wayne G:” ★★★★☆