How this album came to be

It has been 7 years since we lost legendary Pittsburgh rapper, singer, song writer, producer, actor, and artist Malcolm McCormick. Since his passing, his team has slowly and carefully released three albums, making sure to be tasteful and only release the most complete and thoughtful projects Mac had in the vault. For a while now, unfinished versions of Balloonerism have been leaked and circulated the internet, becoming a favorite for the most die hard fans of Miller. Fans were elated to see the announcement of the album getting an official release back in November at Camp Flog Gnaw. The album was created in a period between his light-hearted albums Faces and Watching Movies With the Sound Off. It’s safe to assume that Mac didn’t want to release the depressing and existential Balloonerism because of the fun nature of the albums surrounding it. Nevertheless, we now have the official release of this project and it is amazing.

The Songs

The album starts with the short song “Tambourine Dream“, consisting of 34 seconds of Mac playing the tambourine, an instrument that is used throughout the album.

Immediately after we are given “DJ’s Chord Organ” slowly settling us in with vocals from SZA and Thundercat backtracked with of course, a chord organ. We then get a verse from SZA, delivering a metaphor of how working without can consume you, much like how driving without stopping can drain you of literal and figurative fuel.

Then we get my second favorite track of this album “Do You Have a Destination?“. This track adopts a darker tone than the previous two tracks. The way the lyrics in this song became true is extremely unsettling. Miller raps “Okay I went to sleep faded, then I woke up invisible” a very strong comparison to going to sleep on drugs and waking up as a ghost. He also says “I gave my life to this s***, already killed myself”, meaning he put so much effort into his art that he already feels dead. These lyrics unfortunately have another layer of meaning now that Mac Miller has passed. The gliding production in the back of this track gives every moment an extra “oomph” that lets it excel in presenting emotion.

The following tracks mix in some humor in with some more lyrics about death. “5 Dollar Pony Rides“, the lead single of the album, is lighthearted in talking about having fun riding ponies, giving an imaginary girl whatever she wants and prioritizing having fun rather than tending to real needs. At the end of the song it seems like Mac becomes desperate to keep this girl with him, begging to give her anything she wants by repeating “Can I give you want you want?” until the song fades away.

We then get the laid-back tambourine and chords leading in to “Friendly Hallucinations“. SZA accompanies Mac again as he describes a girl falling into drug addiction. She begins taking drugs to push away the “gray skies” but she “came in for the answers and left with a habit”. The drugs cause her hallucinations and she falls in love with them like she would a real person.

These themes carry on through the mid-point of the album with “Mrs. Deborah Downer“, “Stoned“, “Shangri-La“, “Funny Papers“, and “Excelsior“. Mac loves to portray his own addiction through fictional characters. We are able to get a close look at Miller’s addictions and passions. He connects with girls through drugs, setting him up for artificial relationships that can only be supported while they’re high. We do also get flashes of regret and reminiscing for a sober life and childhood, especially during “Excelsior“.

“Transformations” is definitely a thematic departure in the track list. It acts as an interlude but is much longer than a traditional break in an album. The vocals consist solely of crude rap lines from Mac pitched up and delivered wonky. It is certainly a funny moment but drags on too long and brings the album down a bit and is my least favorite song on the project.

Thankfully, we then get the standout track “Manakins“. This song is all about how God is always watching and can always bring life to an end. Mac doesn’t do this in a religious matter, more like an existential matter. He isn’t scared of dying because he knows that once he does, no one can hurt him. During this song, we get one of the biggest lyrical standouts across the whole album with “We’ve all been down that road before, poured alcohol on open sores”. He’s talking about the disinfectant alcohol and alcoholic beverages at the same time, as both can cause pain and healing. However one is physical and legitimate while one is mental and artificial. The haunting looping harp that plays throughout the song just makes the already dark vocals and lyrics even more ghostly.

With the final traditional song of the album, we get my personal favorite “Rick’s Piano“. The name of the song comes from the beautiful piano throughout the instrumental. The piano in question belongs to the legendary Rick Rubin and was played by Mac while waiting for Rick to arrive at the studio and was recorded on his iPhone. It serves as a perfect tone setter for the lyrics about longing for a better life. Miller comforts a female character and himself, trying to find hope in a positive future. This theme is a supported by the repeated line: “The best is yet to come!”. All these attempts to believe in great things that may or may not happen culminate at the end of the song, with Mac questioning himself and the world repeating “What does death feel like? Oh my, my God I wonder what does death feel like?”. Once again, these lyrics foreshadow the tragic passing of this boundary pushing musician.

Finally, we get the outro “Tomorrow Will Never Know“, a 12 minute collection of drones, phone calls that don’t get answered, children laughing and playing, and occasional casually delivered verses/spoken words by Mac begging and pleading for an end to his pain. He askes out to any god that might be listening if they are like humans, if they have answers for us all, and if they could please, please make his pain go away and let him start over.

Final Review

Balloonerism has very clear themes of drug addiction, artificial love, mental struggles, and hoping for a magic answer to make it all better. Mac Miller’s monotone voice is complimented by amazing back up vocalists, tambourines, piano, strings, and simple drum patterns. This album is spectacularly emotional in the most genuine way and the context in which it was released adds to that immensely. This is arguably Mac Miller’s most emotional project and this was achieved in such a genuine manner. For these reasons, Balloonerism is my choice for the best album of January 2025. 89/100

Track Ranking

1. Rick’s Piano
2. Do You Have A Destination?
3. DJ’s Chord Organ
4. Manakins
5. Funny Papers
6. Stoned
7. 5 Dollar Pony Rides
8. Friendly Hallucinations
9. Shangri-La
10. Mrs. Deborah Downer
11. Tomorrow Will Never Know
12. Excelsior
13. Transformations
14. Tambourine Dream

Other Great Albums From This Month:

Showbiz! – MIKE | DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS – Bad Bunny | Hurry Up Tomorrow – The Weeknd | EUSEXUA – FKA twigs