Mac Miller's 'Balloonerism' album review

High quality posthumous album releases are quite rare, especially among the hip-hop genre. The topic of posthumously-released music in general has a certain discourse surrounding it which raises many artistic and ethical concerns. Nevertheless, posthumous albums continue to be released at a relatively high frequency, and the quality of those projects can often vary wildly.

In the case of Balloonerism, it feels as if Mac Miller’s estate has done their best to preserve his vision for the project. Having been recorded in 2014, around the time that Miller’s mixtape Faces was released, Balloonerism has a similar experimental sound to other projects of his that were released during that era.

Balloonerism is the second Mac Miller album that has been released since his untimely passing in 2018 due to a drug overdose. Miller’s first posthumous album, Circles, came out in 2020 and is widely viewed as one of the best posthumous albums ever released. While Balloonerism might not be quite as good as Circles, it is still a fantastic listen that is absolutely worth your time.

Balloonerism clocks in at almost 59 minutes and has a total of 14 songs. Aside from the opening track, which is just 34 seconds of tambourine music, every song on the album hits — with tracks like “Funny Papers” and “Rick’s Piano” rising above the rest. 

The album is also one of Miller’s darkest works with many of the tracks focusing on themes of substance abuse and depression, all the while being accompanied by what is primarily somber-sounding production. A song like “Mrs. Deborah Downer” is one of the best examples of when the album’s dark themes were appropriately blended together with moody production, in this case making for one of the best songs on the tracklist.

“Tomorrow Will Never Know,” the album’s 12-minute long outro, is a hauntingly beautiful track that has a somewhat similar vibe to “So It Goes,” the outro on Miller’s fifth studio album "Swimming" — the last project to be released during his lifetime. Both tracks feel eerily prophetic of Miller’s own life and tragic passing, while also serving as outstanding send-offs to their respective albums.

Even still, the album’s tone is not entirely solemn. The song “5 Dollar Pony Rides,” which had previously been released on Jan. 9 as the album’s lead single, is one of the more lighthearted songs on the tracklist.

Overall, the album is yet another strong entry into Mac Miller’s stellar discography. As a posthumous album, it feels like the material was properly handled by Miller’s estate and released in a manner that placed his artistic vision at the forefront.

As a listening experience, Balloonerism is highly entertaining and immersive. The experimental production adds to the album’s intrigue while blending very well with its darker themes. It will prove to be a very enjoyable, albeit bittersweet experience for hip-hop fans.

Overall Rating: 9/10