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Mac DeMarco is well known within the music industry, especially among teenagers, and his overlooked debut album, Rock and Roll Nightclub, showcases the range and talent he has.
This album was an experiment for DeMarco to say the least. He explores many different vocal tones, instruments, and genres. The iconic and slightly off-key voice that listeners are so used to hearing in his music is a rarity in this album.
In fact, most of the album features him imitating the voice of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. The songs “Baby’s Wearing Blue Jeans” and “Moving Like Mike” are where this is most prominent. Surprisingly, he sounds quite similar to Elvis. It’s only the seventh track on the album, “She’s Really All I Need,” where the voice DeMarco is so well known for appears for the first time.
But despite the vocal differences, the strong use of electric guitar still rings out throughout the entire album, a staple piece of DeMarco’s music style.
It’s strange how this album remains largely underground despite DeMarco’s widespread popularity. But fans who enjoy many of his hit songs, such as “My Kind of Woman” and “Heart to Heart” will certainly enjoy this album as well.