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Mac Miller - Swimming

Posted: 12/12/2020 by Sam Bailey ( See All) Show:
(2018) Mac Miller has always been a talking point of the music community, who claims his music? The rap community? Jazz? R&B? Pop? There's no correct answer, and depending on who you ask, you'll get a very different response, but Mac's 2018 "Swimming" crossed more boundaries than it created before his extremely untimely passing the year "Swimming" came out, about a month after the release. His presence is missed in the community today, accounts from his musically talented friends (Thundercat, John Mayer, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, etc.) always show the impact that he had on their music. "Swimming" is extremely diverse in how it presents different aspects of songwriting, like how the bass on "What's The Use?" is front and center, plus it's extremely groovy. Mac's singing alone could fill up an album of hits (see "Come Back to Earth", "2009"), and his rapping skills could do the same (see "Self Care", "Jet Fuel"). As an artist in general, Mac has produced under multiple pseudonyms, done jazzy versions of his songs at live venues as opposed to just singing over a backing track, and was quite the multi-instrumentalist as well. "Swimming" starts off with, as my mother called it, an "intensely beautiful" track titled "Come Back to Earth", a gorgeous intro that eases the listener into the world of "Swimming" in an ethereal 3-minute track, then thrusts them directly into Mac's wordy lyricism and floaty beats with "Hurt Feelings". My personal favorite track on the project, "Perfecto", is not only a pretty song, but the spoken word section at the very end serves as a reminder that Mac was someone just like his listeners, someone looking for repose in art and the warmth of someone else. Mac's unique voice is somewhere between a PA city boy and a slight drawl, giving character to every song, "Small Worlds" being a shining example of his singing voice and how his vocal style makes every word sound like it's dripping with emotion and meaning, showing Mac doesn't write just to write, he means what he's saying and isn't afraid to prove it in his music. Late album gem "Jet Fuel" starts off with one of the neatest vocal sampling jobs I've heard in a while, then drops off for a slick bassline and Mac's symmetrical, deliberate flow in a song I've never been so glad was almost 6 minutes long. Overall, "Swimming" is best as a companion piece to "Circles", his posthumous album that seems to round out the ideas and tie up the loose ends of "Swimming" in a tranquil, singing-centric way that doesn't leave anything else to be desired from the artist's prolific discography. "Swimming" is a great listen-through-the-whole-thing album, meant to be enjoyed as one collective piece with "acts" of sorts that divide the album like a well-written piece of literature or a classic musical. "So It Goes", the album's closer, leaves the listener wanting more, just like a good artist should, but it becomes easier and easier to let it run, flip the record over, and relisten again and again while multitasking or focusing on every word. Mac is meant for any occasion, any time, anyone who needs him. I feel like the album's song titles say it best when "Swimming" is, as Mac himself would say, perfecto.

Recommended If You Like: Jazz, laid-back rap, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, John Mayer

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