In August 2018, rap icon Mac Miller released his album “Swimming,” following a journey of loss and self-discovery, a stark contrast from the passion and confidence displayed in his previous album “The Divine Feminine.” Thirty-five days later, the rap community lost a star when Miller passed from an overdose.
His fourth studio album, “Circles” was released posthumously in 2020 and shows off his versatility in the studio. Miller presents his fans with a second opportunity to listen to fresh music with his companion album to “Swimming,” “Balloonerism,” which features upbeat and exciting beats with decidedly less upbeat lyrics.
Drums, keys and vocals are the centerpiece of this album with production from Thundercat, Kintaro, Taylor Graves and Ronald Bruner Jr. The album features half-worked and unreleased deep cuts from 2013 and 2014, during the same era as “Faces,” reflecting a similar ambient and psychedelic-esque production. In just under an hour, Miller reveals 14 unique tracks from the early 2010s.
The album opens up with 33 seconds of maracas and tambourine, followed by “DJ’s Chord Organ.” A distorted voice begins the song with “it’s what he said after the Grammys.” Josh Berg calls out five different chords before the organ mixes with female vocalists, creating a beautiful harmony reminiscent of a church choir. Like many of the tracks in this album, “DJ’s Chord Organ” features looped and repeated audio. SZA dominates this track and is paired with a funky electric guitar and organ that elicits eerie feelings in the instrumental moments of the song.
The third track, “Do You Have a Destination?” tells the story of a lost artist. Despite Miller’s success and popularity during 2014, lyrics like “I went to sleep famous / And I woke up invisible,” capture his disillusionment and struggle with drug addiction. The song’s haunting atmosphere is amplified by the ghostly organs and crashing cymbals, creating an immersive sound.
The vibe slides more toward jazz in the following track, “5 Dollar Pony Rides.” The piano in this song bounces all around, setting the stage for Miller to showcase more jazz-influenced instrumentals that appear later in the album. Escapism remains a major theme in this song, with Miller providing his audience an escape from reality.
The melodic jazz guitar in the next track, “Friendly Hallucinations,” is looser than the previous tracks. Its atmospheric qualities reinforce the emotional lyrics about being disoriented and questioning reality.
Miller is questioning the line between reality and imagination as he explores relationships and substances to find solace in the complex world. The combination of jazz and funk styles in the track captivates the listener and softens the intensity of the lyrics.
Another iconic guitar riff sets off track seven, “Stoned.” The laid-back beat remains consistent throughout the song and is complimented by Miller’s alter ego and Larry Fisherman’s production. Miller uses a spoken-word style to tell the narrative of a young woman being analyzed due to her behavior and her turn to drugs.The same blues guitar present in the intro of the song comes back to compliment Miller’s hazy voice in the chorus of this track. “Stoned” is one of the strongest songs on the album, reminiscent of “Missed Calls,” an earlier Mac Miller song from his 2011 album “Blue Slide Park.”
“Shangri-La” features a mix of jazz-influenced drums and lo-fi beats behind Miller’s vocals alongside his poetic lyricism.
Escapism is brought up again in the 10th song “Excelsior,” as Miller reflects on life as a child and wonders how things have changed so much. Children laughing and playing in the background are offset by soft piano and synthetic sound effects with Miller asking, “Me, I used to want to be a wizard, when did life get so serious?” Larry Fisherman is credited with the production on this track, which takes a turn toward the end. Miller’s voice becomes overlaid as he repeats, “Abracadabra,” and eventually breaks down into manic laughing before ending with the sound of the children playing.
The joyful children contradict the distorted dialogue introducing the next track, “Transformations.” This heavily produced song bounces between sounding like a slightly lower pitched chipmunk and the viral hacker Anonymous. The same piano medley repeats over and over.
While listening, you may begin to question your sanity. The disorienting production on this track reflects a descent into madness with the feature from one of Miller’s alter egos, Delusional Thomas. The collaboration between two of his personalities also highlights his internal battle and conflict with who he is.
From here, the album takes a turn into religion. Up until this point, Miller’s expressed his sense of loss and his spiral is clearly documented. The turn to God and spirituality suggest the lifestyle Miller raps about is unsustainable, and he’s at his last resort. “Manakins” and “Rick’s Piano” examine Miller’s relationship with spirituality, God and purpose. “Manakins” lyrics put the consequences of searching for life’s answers on display. In “Rick’s Piano,” Miller desperately questions God about death.
Holistically, this album feels like a review of Miller’s rise into stardom and a documentation of the addiction that followed. The end of the album gets heavy as he tries to talk to God and displays these feelings of helplessness brought on by the aforementioned addiction. Children’s voices in the background against the heavy themes of the album are a glaring contrast of innocence and death. The children playing in the park may even be a reference to Blue Slide Park, the namesake of Miller’s 2011 album and a park he frequented as a child.
The album closes with “Tomorrow Will Never Know,” an intense, bass-heavy song calling on you to look within. The layers of children’s voices, the phone ringing and the slow and deep drums create a lingering atmosphere. These types of songs from Miller beg the question of what he could have been able to create with this experimental indie sound had he had more time, instead of leaving so much undiscovered.
