Album Review // Mac Miller // Balloonerism

Warner Records

4.5/5 stars

Seven years after his passing, Mac Miller's musical genius continues to excite.

Pittsburgh native Mac Miller passed away in 2018, leaving behind a collection of critically and commercially acclaimed albums and mixtapes. However, this output was not the only music the late artist left in his wake.

Originally recorded in 2014, Balloonerism was shelved by Mac's label for being far too experimental (in their view). While the musician would go on to make other projects, the unreleased album achieved mythical status among his fanbase. Snippets of the record leaked through bootlegs; however, no complete edition of Balloonerism was ever made available — that was until last month, when Miller's estate officially released the project (along with a short companion film via Amazon Prime).

In line with Mac Miller's sound during the mid-2010s, Balloonerism is woozy and psychedelic, with the musician's casual delivery of poetic passages. However, what separates this project is the overt avant garde nature of its sound. The sounds of tingly keys and accordion arrangements play through the listener's ears. Each track flows into one another, creating an almost uninterrupted listening experience. Production from the likes of Rick Rubin and Thundercat, along with vocals from then-unknown singer SZA, assist in this effect. All these folks work together to build the insular wall of sound called Balloonerism.