Mac Miller - Swimming Review
Hi there!
I'm Kai, and whether you know me personally, know my brother, or even somehow randomly stumbled upon this blog, I appreciate you taking the time to read. This review (my first one!) is going to be on one of my favourite albums, Swimming by Mac Miller, in celebration of its 5th anniversary.
Swimming, released August 3rd, 2018, is the 5th studio album by late rapper Mac Miller. Since its release 5 years ago, it has now become a favourite for both fans and critics alike within Mac's discography. Being one of his most essential albums for a few distinct reasons, its importance lies beyond just its pure musical quality.
Just a month after Swimming's release, Mac Miller would tragically pass away from an accidental drug overdose. His sudden and unexpected death greatly intensifies the themes of struggle portrayed throughout this album. In fact, the title itself "Swimming", is all a metaphor for Mac fighting to keep his head above water: battling the inner demons stemming from his substance addictions, his recent breakup with Ariana Grande, etc.
Secondly, when discussing Mac Miller as an artist its hard to ignore his unanticipated evolution: starting as a stereotypical frat rapper releasing radio hits; transitioning to the abstract, drug-fueled sounds of projects such as Faces; before debuting his first melodic efforts in 2016's The Divine Feminine. Yet, while still admirable, the sensual, jazzy neo soul soundscapes of Divine Feminine felt, in a way, uninspired. I think it's really Swimming where Mac achieves the apex of this artistic evolution, taking all these musical influences and successfully fusing them into a style of his own.
One of the primary ways this takes form is the production. The tracks include spacey trip-hop, alt r&b slow-burners, and everything in between, yet beyond their general groove, the accompanying instrumentals are consistently well produced: displaying the unique and tasteful song craft put into them when given your full attention. Mac also brings very admirable chemistry with his own beats, effortlessly gliding over them as he sings hooks and raps all in a very laid-back style.
The second song, Hurt Feelings, is a good proof of both of these concepts, having both one of my favourite instrumentals and rapping performances. I love the punchy bass and drum hits and how the guitar lines seemingly ebb and flow. On the verses and the hook there's fun vocal effects, a great flow, and lyrics that invoke some of the braggadocios energy of albums like GOOD:AM while showcasing a new, matured, more charismatic personality and topically alluding to mental health and his DUI incident.
There's also the album's first single, Self Care, which is nothing short of a flat out masterpiece. The first section, Self Care, is adorned by these amazing synth washes that I would best describe as... an object being pulled through water??? Mac speaks on the aftermath of his break up with Ariana Grande; specifically on disappearing from the public eye and focusing on himself and his own turbulent mental state first. Then, as the beat switches into the atmospheric second part, Oblivion, the song physically "opens up", the tension releasing as the melodies freely echo. This part specifically features some of the best sung and emotionally potent vocals across Mac's entire career, especially on the "Oblivion, yeah, yeah" refrain and when the extra vocal layers are added during the second half of the verse. I also really like the transition at the end into the next song Wings too.
Meanwhile, on a few other tracks Mac plays closer to his abstract hip-hop origins. Conversation Pt. 1 features additional production from previous Watching Movies With the Sound Off collaborator Flying Lotus, and despite the fact that the same flow is repetitively maintained for literally over 3 minutes, the interesting beat and smooth bars such as "Now they wanna give a couple statements | when you really 'bout it you don't say shit" keep it enjoyable.
But, above all, this album can be really beautiful. There's a lot of pretty instrumentation present throughout such as in the serene intro track that is Come Back to Earth and the playful jazz in Small Worlds, but many other songs have their own unique note-worthy moments.
Dunno starts slow and woozy but has a low-key instrumental buildup into the steady, reassuring line "I think we might just be alright, thank god."
The anti-climatic outro track, So It Goes, ends off the album with an incredible wave of synths described by Mac himself as "the ascension to heaven".
The magnum opus of these melodic tracks though is definitely 2009. Obviously the string intro is absolutely gorgeous, but the main instrumental shines too with its simple piano chords. Somewhat in contrast with the rest of the album, the verses here are both freestyles, adding a sort of intimate diary-like feeling. The general theme of this track is reflective, with Mac reminiscing about the decisions that led him to his current career and the struggles along the way, but as the song goes on, the lyrics slowly build and build up in intensity, giving more meaning and context to the chorus as it reoccurs. I think the way the autotune is applied and the vocal inflection are perfectly balanced to give the performance more emotion without making it sound grating.
Of course, Mac Miller sings a lot in this album, but he sounds good doing it, missing much of the strain present on many tracks from his previous works. His raw voice is very expressive, and is usually vocally layered in a way that reminds me of artists such as Frank Ocean.
Another commendable aspect is the lyrical improvement. While in the past Mac was great at penning quick-witted bars that make you laugh, when strung together his verses often felt like filler, usually missing any underlying expression or main idea. There's not a complete day and night difference in the writing on Swimming, but I think having this one singular central concept to work around goes a long way in making the album more emotionally vulnerable: throughout its entirety and especially on 2009 you get a very extensive and personal view into Mac’s mind but also all his efforts to heal throughout all the turmoil.
Still, this album does have a few slight weak spots that keep it from being 100% perfect. Perfecto is probably my least favourite song here. The verses are enjoyable, but the background chirping sounds and "is it? is it? is it?" frankly just annoy me, and the chorus tests the limits of the singing voice I just praised.
I like the song Wings, but for me its musicality does not make up for its incredibly slow tempo and lack of substance, making it a bit of a boring spot on the album, especially when compared to the previously mentioned Dunno.
But overall, I'd say this is Mac Miller's best project, with these slight mishaps far from ruining an experience that succeeds as both a concept album that perfectly captures Mac's personal struggles at the time, but also as an excellently produced fusion of jazz, funk, hip hop, and r&b that is easy on the ears.
Swimming / Mac Miller / Jazz Rap, Alt R&B
Final score: 9.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Hurt Feelings, Self Care, Small Worlds, Jet Fuel, 2009
Least Favourite Track: Perfecto
Thanks for reading one of my posts!
I’m new to this whole blogging thing, so if you have any feedback, criticisms, questions, or suggestions for what I should review next, I heavily encourage you to leave a comment.
thats fantastic let me get a picture of your toes
SHOW M