Mac Miller - Swimming
Mac Miller continues his musical maturation through his fifth full-length album, Swimming. Pondering his success and the changes that have occurred in recent years (especially since his sobriety), Miller utilizes his clash of depression and optimism to form an overall solid meditation on healing, growth, and self-care. The obvious initial inspiration would be his breakup with Ariana Grande, but there are no hateful or aggressive moments in his reflection. Instead, he takes his traditional hypnotic, hazy production and vocal delivery to demonstrate he has learned whatever lesson plagued him in his past years with Grande. Despite a small case of monotony in the delivery, the album's conceptual strength and cinematic drama help keep it together, even if it cannot hold the listener's attention 100% of the time.
In opening track "Come Back to Earth", Miller introduces the metaphor that threads the record by saying "I was drowning, but now I'm swimming through stressful waters to relief." He makes it clear that a better change has happened in his life, a newfound balance probably related to his alcoholism. Through "Hurt Feelings" and "What's the Use" he continues to outline his change, and for better or for worse he is able to soberly reflect on his surroundings. The "Self Care" motif is crucial for him following the breakup, and his confidence to overcome is most evident in the song's video. He may be conflicted, but his self-assurance still shines out on songs like "Jet Fuel." The final track, "So It Goes", recognizes that part of life is acceptance, once again for the better ("world in the palm of your hand") and the worse ("you still might drop it").
The music itself is standard of the past Mac albums, but in the wash of stoner rap, it's the dramatic moments that stand out the most. Piano, orchestra, and horns jump out in short passages just enough to shake things up for a few bars. Miller has been admired in the past for his reliance on the old-school, and this is true for Swimming in the production as well as his lyrics and vocals. The druggy and mellow sound recalls Snoop Dogg as much as contemporaries like Wiz Khalifa. Miller and his team of producers and writers have a nice singular vision throughout the project that keeps it fresh and unique. The only shame is that the album is not quite as potent as the excellent GO:OD AM (2015) and the thoroughly satisfying The Divine Feminine (2016); luckily, it is just as listenable and interesting in different ways.
Swimming certainly is doing more than just keeping Mac Miller afloat. The album represents a clear progression in musical and lyrical prowess, despite being of lower quality in my opinion. The continuation and delineation of his musical character in Swimming show how valuable the content is to its creator, and for a genre as confessional as rap, that quality might be the most important one. Either way, one can still enjoy the vicarious experience of another, and Miller's post-breakup introspection is rewarding for being forward-thinking and improving with each new release.
In opening track "Come Back to Earth", Miller introduces the metaphor that threads the record by saying "I was drowning, but now I'm swimming through stressful waters to relief." He makes it clear that a better change has happened in his life, a newfound balance probably related to his alcoholism. Through "Hurt Feelings" and "What's the Use" he continues to outline his change, and for better or for worse he is able to soberly reflect on his surroundings. The "Self Care" motif is crucial for him following the breakup, and his confidence to overcome is most evident in the song's video. He may be conflicted, but his self-assurance still shines out on songs like "Jet Fuel." The final track, "So It Goes", recognizes that part of life is acceptance, once again for the better ("world in the palm of your hand") and the worse ("you still might drop it").
The music itself is standard of the past Mac albums, but in the wash of stoner rap, it's the dramatic moments that stand out the most. Piano, orchestra, and horns jump out in short passages just enough to shake things up for a few bars. Miller has been admired in the past for his reliance on the old-school, and this is true for Swimming in the production as well as his lyrics and vocals. The druggy and mellow sound recalls Snoop Dogg as much as contemporaries like Wiz Khalifa. Miller and his team of producers and writers have a nice singular vision throughout the project that keeps it fresh and unique. The only shame is that the album is not quite as potent as the excellent GO:OD AM (2015) and the thoroughly satisfying The Divine Feminine (2016); luckily, it is just as listenable and interesting in different ways.
Swimming certainly is doing more than just keeping Mac Miller afloat. The album represents a clear progression in musical and lyrical prowess, despite being of lower quality in my opinion. The continuation and delineation of his musical character in Swimming show how valuable the content is to its creator, and for a genre as confessional as rap, that quality might be the most important one. Either way, one can still enjoy the vicarious experience of another, and Miller's post-breakup introspection is rewarding for being forward-thinking and improving with each new release.
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