This just makes me want more from a man who doesn’t exist- “Balloonerism” album review

Image via people.com

Bryan Baste | Staff Writer

More than six years after his death by accidental overdose, Mac Miller continues to impress, even with decade-old music. “Circles” wears its neo-soul and jazz influences openly, pointing toward the music he’d release on his 2014 EP “Faces” and his next two albums, “Circles” and “Swimming”.

With his newest album, “Balloonerism”, Mac has reached even greater heights, and this album proves to be another fantastic posthumous release in his discography.

The album deals with drug use, depression, and references to suicide, it reads as a man coming to terms with his issues yet isn’t able to outrun his demons. 

The first track “Tambourine Dream” is just Miller shaking a tambourine, which shows us that this album is basically untouched from when it was finished around 10 years ago, since it sounds like an outtake. This allows us to see how special this album is because on his last album “Circles” the entire album had to be overhauled and was essentially saved by many producers and artists.

Our first proper track is “DJ’s Chord Organ” featuring SZA, who has an excellent verse towards the end of the track. This track opens with a random bit of someone blurting out “It’s what he said after the Grammys”. 

This exemplifies a bit of the album’s unfinished state. But “Balloonerism’s” imperfections and quirks, like some of the random bits of dialogue or seemingly unedited bits of audio make this album feel more personal to Miller. This allows me to almost peak into the psyche of Miller like I’m in the same room with a man who doesn’t walk among us. 

An aspect I also enjoy about this record is how almost every track has a memorable piano or synth line, which is something of a calling card of Miller’s production, one of the standouts is the opening organ line on “DJ’s Chord Organ” featuring SZA. The organ was played by Mac using one of Daniel Johnston’s chord organs (Miller received the organ after donating $10,000 to the production of Johnston’s biographical film). 

In the intro of the song, Miller calls out each note that he is going to play on the organ until he reaches the D note. As soon as they get to the D note, the organ erupts in an all-encompassing drone that is suffocating yet, it scratches my brain in the most perfect way. “It entrances…”  entrancing my ears and mind with a sound that I can tell came from the same emotional place as most of the writing comes from.

The lyricism is also so personal and raw. In the song, “Mrs. Deborah Downer” with lyrics like “My best friend packed his things, threw ’em in the car”, “I haven’t seen him since (Seen him since)”,

and “Guess I understand, he always got the chills when he saw a room full of rolled up hundred dollar bills (Hundred dollar bills), yeah”. These verses really delve into Miller’s struggle with drugs, referencing that a friend saw his room filled with rolled-up bills and stopped talking to him because of his continued drug use.

These lines help paint the picture of a man who seemingly had everything, yet his demons always keep him unhappy.

This for me is already one of his best projects. In every single song, Miller has a story to tell and something meaningful to say. Throughout the album I got this feeling that I’m listening to someone’s innermost thoughts because on most of the tracks, there is very little room for interpretation; he will tell you how he’s feeling.

Even though he didn’t live to see its release, “Balloonerism” stands as a personal and gut-wrenching album. If this is Mac Miller’s last album, he really left his cards on the table. What a way to go.

Highly recommend/10

About Post Author