Canadian singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco is paying tribute to “the Great One” with a surprise album containing a staggering 199 songs.
One Wayne G, has eight hours and 43 minutes of music DeMarco wrote over the last five years. Most of the tracks are titled with only the dates on which they were recorded.
The album’s title is a nod to Wayne Gretzky, who wore No. 99.
Although born on Vancouver Island, DeMarco grew up in Edmonton, where Gretzky played from 1979 to 1988.
DeMarco’s sixth studio album comes exactly three months after he released the instrumental collection Five Easy Hot Dogs, on which each track is named for the city where it was recorded (including “Edmonton” and “Edmonton 2”).
In 2021, Portland band Reptaliens tweeted that DeMarco "is the Wayne Gretzky of indie."
Mac Demarco is the Wayne Gretzky of indie
— Reptaliens (@reptaliensband) October 27, 2021