A sense of gloom and eerieness hangs over Mac Miller's new album Ballonerism, making it a listening experience that's quite tough to digest and rather thought-provoking.
The album is the rapper’s second posthumous release since his unfortunate passing. A lot of the songs were recorded in 2014, ahead of his 2015 GO:OD AM, but somehow didn't see the light of day at the time. Hearing him reflect on themes of mortality, drugs, and relationships while he’s no longer here is not easy, especially for those who grew up with his music. Some eerie moments, instrumentally and lyrically, were “DJ’s Chord Organ”, “Transformations”, and “Tomorrow Will Never Know”. However, the track that is most spirit-shaking is the gloomy and dream-like "Mrs. Deborah Downer".
Here he deeply meditates on the subject of impermanence and uses the metaphor of crushed pills turning into powder, referring to how we eventually become ash. The keys are glittery yet haunting, while the jazz-influenced drums possess this dark, muffled tone that adds to the track's moody nature.
What I find particularly fascinating is how Balloonerism captures Mac in-between eras. Recorded around 2013–2014, the album sits somewhere between the psychedelic looseness of Watching Movies with the Sound Off and Faces and the more refined, soulful direction he would later explore. There’s a beautiful sense of experimentation throughout, with Thundercat’s fluid bass work, hazy keys, oddball samples, and Mac’s own increasingly confident production creating this wonderfully unpredictable world. “5 Dollar Pony Rides” is a perfect example of that lighter side, with its funky, jazzy groove offering a much-needed breath of fresh air without ever completely shaking off the album’s melancholic undertone.
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