We start things off with "The Star Room" an eerie, laid-back jam that sees Mac bringing down the tone several notches from his prior album, and aims for a more pure, unadulterated sound that gives Mac some diversity and depth as both an artist and person. My favorite track off the album is "Avian" a piano aided rhymer that shows a musically sophisticated side of Mac that we haven't seen before, featuring a simple rhyming scheme and a slow, steady beat that truly represents the artistic vision that he was looking for when he was in the studio recording this album. "S.D.S." is a more traditional, simple format hip-hop track with dazzling hooks and clever rhymes that set this track apart from the others and in a class all its own. "Bird Call" is a jazzed up tune featuring more upbeat instrumentation, and Mac's killer rhymes making an indelible impression on you from the get go and shares a side of Mac that is almost an instant revelation and makes us think of him in a totally different light than what we're used to. "I Am Who Am (Killin' Time)" is a throwback jam featuring some nostalgic beats set amidst a backdrop of clever rhymes set forth by Mac that continues the journey that we embarked on at the beginning of the album. "Objects In The Mirror" features a neat percussion based beat that runs silently in the background, but is more noticeable towards the end of the track, and gives us a more organic, unadulterated feel that is very well recorded and allows us to make an easy transition into the second half of the album.
And the second half of the album kicks off with "Gees", an inventive, cleverly styled hip-hop opus featuring Mac's killer rhymes and thoughtful, inquisitive beats making up the bulk of the arsenal here. The disc's title track is a more toned down affair from the prior tracks, and features a more subtle, layered approach that shows off Mac's diversity as an artist, but better yet the maturity that he's made from his last effort. "Remember" is a terrific, densely populated track that has an eerie, mysterious nature to it, but it all makes sense when you go back and listen to it in its entirety and see what Mac was aiming for when he was in the studio laying down this song. We get ready to close out the album with "Aquarium", a distorted, musically toned out track that features a repeating loop that gives it almost a throwback feel, and that starts to bode well for the conclusion of the album. The disc comes to a close on "Youforia", a synth heavy jam that takes in all the musical elements we've heard in succession one after another, and brings about a sense of finality as the disc fades to black. I'm a huge Mac Miller fanatic, and while I don't listen to hip-hop that much, I genuinely admire Mac's talent and charisma that has me in awe to be in his musical presence, and watch the magic unfold right before my eyes and ears. He totally exudes confidence and likability in everything that he does, and it's just awe-inspiring to watch everything fall into place right here.
In summary, a well executed and implemented second effort here from Mac Miller, who has shown considerable growth and maturity as an artist, and is quietly becoming one of the more prominent hip-hop talent coming up in music today.
Album Score: 3.5/5
Track Listing:
- The Star Room
- Avian
- I'm Not Real (f/Earl Sweatshirt)
- S.D.S.
- Bird Call
- Matches (f/Ab-Soul)
- I Am Who Am (Killin' Time) (f/Niki Randa)
- Objects in the Mirror
- Red Dot Music (f/Action Bronson & Loaded Lux)
- Gees (f/Schoolboy Q)
- Watching Movies
- Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes (f/Jay Electronica)
- Remember
- Someone Like You
- Aquarium
- Youforia
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