‘2’: the Mac DeMarco album that changed modern indie music
If you grew up in the 2010s and spent a lot of time on the internet, especially sites like Tumblr, Mac DeMarco’s music was practically inescapable. Many of us soundtracked our adolescent years with songs like ‘Chamber of Reflection’ and ‘My Kind of Woman’ – it was almost a rite of passage for ‘indie’ identifying teenagers of the previous decade to listen to DeMarco’s music, believing his musings on everything from cigarettes to true love to be revolutionary.
In many ways, though, DeMarco’s music has greatly shaped the course of much indie music that has emerged since. With his debut studio album, 2, he accidentally paved the way for bedroom pop, a genre which has given rise to some of music’s most popular acts of the moment, from Billie Eilish to Girl in Red and Pink Pantheress. DeMarco, in his own right, is also still hugely popular, amassing 18.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
He once said, “I don’t understand how bedroom pop has become a genre. Although it’s probably my fault.”
The musician released his first project, Rock and Roll Nightclub, in 2011, a 26-minute-long introduction to his sonic world. The considerably more fleshed-out 2, however, gained him critical respect and lots of fans. The album seemed to sit somewhere between vintage psychedelia, jangly pop and indie rock, but the overall originality of his sound, which he called ‘slacker jazz’ or ‘jizz jazz’, helped to ensure his success in the early 2010s.
Teenagers and young people were quickly attracted to DeMarco and his laidback, fun-loving persona. Photos of the singer often featured him stuffing cigarettes into his mouth, and even now, his Spotify image is a mirror selfie taken with the flash on, with him pulling an awkward smile. The relatability of his image and the relaxed vibe of his music has made him a popular figure in the indie sphere, and in the wake of 2, many young musicians started to create music with a similar essence to DeMarco, such as Cuco, boy pablo, and Eyedress, who have all had considerable online success and still have millions of monthly Spotify listeners.
The allure of DeMarco can also be found in his DIY approach. Making music completely solo, DeMarco proved to budding teenage musicians that even if you didn’t have a band or access to a recording studio, you could still make great music. While 2 was financed by his label, Captured Tracks, he chose to create it all from the comfort of his own apartment. As we know, this is the main hallmark of the decisively internet-appropriate genre of bedroom pop, which became a huge trend during the 2010s.
Without access to expensive equipment, many young musicians took inspiration from DeMarco and recorded everything from their beds. Clairo, who is now one of indie’s most popular artists, literally broke through into the industry by sharing a webcam video of her singing her song ‘Pretty Girl’, recorded on GarageBand, from her bed. She looks like your average teenage girl and the laidback nature of the video – she’s not done up, she’s simply lounging in her room – helped her, like DeMarco, to form a fanbase.
It seems as though much of the music that went viral in the 2010s owes DeMarco a thank you. His solo, DIY approach and laid-back persona came to define 2010’s indie—for better or for worse.
