Have you ever heard of the song “Onion Man”? How about “Peter Pickles” or “Young Coconut?” These oddly-named songs are tracks off Mac DeMarco’s recently re-released album, Some Other Ones. Each song on this album is entirely instrumental, which highlights the interesting sound pieces DeMarco chooses to use. Each song is relatively short, making the entire album only 22 minutes.
Canadian musician Mac DeMarco has been releasing music on Spotify since 2012. He has said he takes inspiration from The Smiths, Neil Young, Steely Dan and others. DeMarco has gained a large fan base since the beginning of his career, with an estimated 17.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. His most popular song, “Heart to Heart,” has about 325.5 million listens on Spotify. He has a large discography with ten different projects.
Some Other Ones, often referred to as the “barbeque soundtrack” by fans, has a unique release story. If a listener were to check DeMarco’s discography, they would see that the album was released in 2015 — even though it has only been available on Spotify since November 8, 2023. Back in 2015, DeMarco hosted a barbeque to both promote his upcoming album Another One and to collect donations for a food bank. During this event, he played music from Some Other Ones on the speakers, and he released the album shortly after on a platform called Bandcamp. That being said, Some Other Ones was only released for a short time before DeMarco removed it from Bandcamp. Since then, fans have been listening to Some Other Ones through illegal downloads and streaming services.
Established in 2007, Bandcamp works to directly support artists, with 82% of the revenue generated going to the artists. Fans are also able to purchase vinyls and digital albums on the website. As of November 8, 2023, Some Other Ones is now once again available on Bandcamp. The re-release of the album came as a surprise to many fans, as DeMarco did not announce the album anywhere. He does not have any personal social media accounts and only uses the “Mac’s Record Label ” Instagram to communicate with fans. The last mention of an album release from this account was on April 20, 2023 in promotion of One Wayne G.
One Wayne G, which was released on April 21, 2023, is a 199 song, 9.5 hour long album that is full of unreleased tracks and demos. A majority of the tracks are instrumental though there are a few lyrical songs within the album. Some fans theorized that the release of this album marked the end of DeMarco’s career, though this speculation has not been confirmed nor denied. Despite the album having purely instrumental tracks, there is variety among the nine tracks on Some Other Ones. “Onion Man” is upbeat and fun, while “Special K” is slow and mellow.
The re-release of Some Other Ones has been a fun surprise for fans and begs the question of what DeMarco has in store for the future. Will he unearth more unreleased tracks, or will he create new music? Will he go on tour again, or was the purge of old music a sign that his career is ending? In the meantime, give Some Other Ones a listen!