It has now been six years since Mac Miller died, and his twelfth studio album Balloonerism officially got released. Since his death, the Mac Miller estate has released multiple studio albums, such as Watching Movies with the Sound Off and Circles.
The estate consists of family and friends that Miller wished would take control over all of his unreleased music and other personal items. In his will, he reportedly left specific instructions on what to do with his music.
Balloonerism was officially created back in 2014, when the whole album was extremely close to getting finished. However, the album was not released back mainly due to Miller mental state.
The album opens up with 33 seconds of tambourine shaking of “Tambourine Dream.” The tambourine play is a tribute to producer Larry Fisherman, who is widely known as Miller’s alter ego. The tambourine is not just heard on this track. It appears on more tracks in the album.
Track two is “DJ’s Chord Organ”(Feat, SZA). On this track, Miller is hardly heard as SZA is the main artist. SZA puts together an incredible performance in the song that fits perfectly with the style that Miller was looking for in the album.
Track three “Do You Have A Destination?” keeps the same style as “DJ’s Chord Organ.” The track has many hard hitting lyrics that really reveal the state of mind he was in at the time. The variety of production elements make it naturally interesting, also with classic ad-libs, background singing, and many underlying elements along with it.
Track four “5 Dollar Pony Rides” is the lead single to the album. This song has the most singing by Mac Miller of any song on the album. “5 Dollar Pony Rides” is also one of the few very upbeat songs on the project. The track’s catchy lyrics made it the ideal lead single, released a couple of weeks before the album.
Track five, “Friendly Hallucinations,” is a song that feels like it fits the vibe of summer, with an amazing hook and very smooth baseline. SZA is also found harmonizing with Miller throughout the song. The track has a deep meaning with references to love, mental health, and the search for meaning.
Track six, “Mrs. Deborah Downer,” has the same feeling as the other songs in the album, but the lyrics hit differently. The song goes into the self-destruction in Miller’s life. This can be heard in many lyrics talking about his personal battles. The song tries to show the reality of life and how to regain control.
Track seven, “Stoned,” has a very smooth and relaxed rhythm to it. The opening line to the song, “Breaks down the pain” sets the stage for how emotional this song gets. “Lets get stoned,” is used multiple times because as we learned later in his life he used this substance abuse to cope with his pain. Overall, this is the second most streamed song on the album, and in light of Miller’s untimely death, it serves as a haunting reminder of the ultimate dangers of substance addiction.
Track eight, “Shangri-La” presents a mix of playfulness and introspection. “Shangri-La” may not be the most outstanding project on the album, but it maintains the psychedelic vibe. The song is mainly about the journey of self-reflection.
Track nine, “Funny Papers,” is the clear standout hit in the album. It currently sits as the most streamed song on the entire album. The song is one of the more upbeat songs in the album, but it also has some of the most heartbreaking lyrics. The song talks a lot about death and the search for peace in his life. The song ends with the question “Why does it matter / At all?” which sums up the entire song perfectly, highlighting the emotional landscape Miller was trying to figure out within his life.
Track ten, “Excelsior,” is one of the shorter songs on the album. The song is about kids and how it reflects with his childhood. It tries to show how simplistic life was as a kid and how much joy kids have.
Track eleven “Transformations”(Feat. Delusional Thomas) has an experimental type of sound to it. Delusional Thomas is Mac Miller’s alter ego, who is heard throughout most of the song with his signature high-pitched tone. The song feels different from the other tracks but still has the same very meaningful lyrics that match with the rest of the album.
Track twelve, “Manakins,” has the most posthumous feel to it. “Manakins” is one of the least streamed songs on the album, but the meaning behind the song is just as strong as the others. The song is about the need to question social norms and the courage to break free of societal constraints.
Track thirteen, “Rick’s Piano,” is a reference to Miller playing Rick Ruben’s piano in the iconic Shangri-La studio. The song starts with Miller making jokes and just seeming to have a good time. But it soon grows powerful with lyrics like “What does death feel like,” and “Why does death steal life.” This song is one of the saddest on the album but also one of the most streamed ones as well.
The fourteenth and final song on the album is “Tomorrow Will Never Know.” Throughout the song the unanswered voicemail response is repeated and it fades to be less and less. This not only is a symbol of Miller’s death, but a tribute to Arianna Grande who called him reportedly hundreds of times when she heard about his death.
In addition to the album release, the estate released an animated short on Prime that follows a group of school friends who are transfigured by the music of a chord organ from “DJ’s Chord Organ” and launched into a shadow world. The film is mostly based on the song “Excelsior” but tries to fit the same dark, weird theme of the rest of the album.
Both the album and the short are well worth your time.
