By Dylan Thatcher, Features Editor

[Warner Records Inc.; 2025]

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: “5 Dollar Pony Rides”, “Stoned”, “Rick’s Piano”

No more leaks, no more theories; Mac Miller’s long awaited, unreleased 2014 project, Balloonerism, has officially dropped. Since Miller’s accidental overdose in 2018, this is the second posthumous record that his estate has made available, succeeding the brilliant Circles, released in 2020.

Balloonerism opens with “Tambourine Dream,” a short and informal introduction showcasing Miller’s avant-garde tambourine abilities and flows right into “DJ’s Chord Organ (feat. SZA).” The track opens with a glimpse into the studio, with personnel working through the musical notes on the chord organ before the song opens up. This ‘behind the scenes’ addition is a theme that is found throughout the album and adds an element of transparency to its production. The song itself is stimulating, showcasing SZA’s vocal talents with ethereal and experimental production supporting her. 

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The following track, “Do You Have A Destination,” is the most similar to the rest of Miller’s work, especially with bars like, “Supermodel b*tches hold auditions in my swimmin’ pool”. From a layman’s perspective, it seems like this song could’ve been included on Miller’s 2013 album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off.

The single from this album, “5 Dollar Pony Rides”, carries an upbeat energy yet is a laidback listen. Thundercat, who appears on numerous tracks, helps drive this song with his bass alongside the electric piano and drums, played by his brothers, Jameel and Ronald Bruner. The easy going nature of this song makes it an obvious choice as the album’s single.

“Friendly Hallucinations” gets the head bopping with a dramatic bass line; so much so, Miller includes the line, “I’m a slave to the bass line”. Despite the groove, this song does drag on a bit longer than it needs. In the next track, “Mrs. Deborah Downer,” Miller gets introspective, exploring the dark side of fame and substance abuse and how they relate to each other. Much like the previous song, the instrumental arrangement complements Miller’s vocals seamlessly.

“Stoned” couldn’t have showed up in the track list at a better time, introducing a new and fresh element around the album’s halfway mark. The electric guitar work here adds a lot with just a little twang and breaks up a long stretch of songs with similar arrangements. Lyrically, “Stoned” is similar to “Mrs. Deborah Downer”, but switches from an introspective point of view to Miller describing a woman he is close with. This track is a definitive highlight in a very strong album.

By the time “Funny Papers” begins, themes like death, isolation and beauty in dark places have been established, and this track plays on those perfectly. From the witty line, “Baby, there’s a little vacation in the dresser, take one for depression, and two for your temper”, to the hardest bar on this album, “Shit, I ain’t an innovator, just a motherf*ckin’ illustrator”, this song hits the mark. Once again, the instrumentals fit so well and the inclusion of an old-timey piano is a tasteful touch. 

The next three songs, “Excelsior,” “Transformations (feat. Delusional Thomas)” and “Manakins” show just how experimental Miller was at this time in his career. Everything from ‘90s hip hop style backing tracks, to sampled string arrangements, to analog tape tricks are showcased and help set this project apart from Miller’s previously released work. 

The old-timey piano returns on “Rick’s Piano,” this time at the forefront of the mix. The overall production on this track adds another breath of fresh air right before the album’s closer. Lyrically, “Rick’s Piano” protests the dying of the light with a sense of optimism that is seldomly present on the rest of Balloonerism. This optimism is almost immediately eviscerated once “Tomorrow Will Never Know” begins. The final track sounds like manic depression meeting a bad acid trip, and will destroy any fan of Miller that is familiar with his story and how it ended. It is also worth noting that this is by far the longest song on the album. 

Ultimately, Balloonerism is a fantastic and brutally honest album that can’t help but evoke strong feelings surrounding Miller’s untimely death. This project has provided a handful of exceptional songs to Miller’s discography and brought a much grittier and experimental sound to his career. This is not Miller’s greatest project by any means, and that’s OK. Balloonerism gives fans another glimpse into Miller’s life, and that’s enough.

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