The second posthumous album released since the death of American rapper Mac Miller in 2018 ponders delusions and lost innocence. Drug use and death are recurring themes, making it a highly poignant listen: Miller accidentally overdosed at 26.
Recorded during 2013-14, a fertile period in which Miller also released a maturing album, Watching Movies With the Sound Down (2013) and a hard-hitting mixtape, Faces (2014), Balloonerism finds him at a psychological low ebb. Simultaneously, though, it reveals a versatile musician working hard to overlay his early frat-rap reputation with more expansive work that defied genre. Although Miller abandoned it, he was keen for Balloonersim to be heard beyond the leaks loose online.
The mood draws on soul and jazz, with funk bassist Thundercat and his brothers Kintaro and Ronald Bruner Jr lending a hand on several cuts. The jazzy, bittersweet 5 Dollar Pony Rides finds Miller wishing he could make his girl happy. Elsewhere, SZA is showcased on psychedelic standout DJ’s Chord Organ.
The existential triptych that closes the album is hard to hear. “What does death feel like?” Miller wonders on Rick’s Piano. The nearly 12-minute Tomorrow Will Never Know hits hard – especially its long, found sound close, where an unanswered telephone rings emptily.
