After two years since his last album, The Divine Feminine, Mac Miller bounces back on the charts with Swimming. Unlike his previous album, which was inspired by “the universe and love”,, Swimming offers a deeper insight on Mac Miller’s hardships, and coming to terms with his imperfections and mistakes. Starting off the album is “Come Back to Earth” opening with its heavenly sounds and unapologetic confessions. In this track, Miller comes to terms with his faults and realizes that life gets better when you accept what needs to change. The overall theme of imperfections and faults is clear within the album and remains constant throughout each song. Miller reminds us that we all go through obstacles in life, some more complex than others, but that the choice of becoming better begins with ourselves. In order to do that you must accept your flaws and mistakes.. This concept of accepting your flaws is spoken about on track number 5, “Self Care” Miller metaphorically describes his feelings after his DUI and recent breakup with Ariana Grande. He also touches on along with the media trying to tear down his image due to this. In the bass filled trance that is “Hurt Feelings” he raps, “I’ve been going through it, you just go around it”. Miller is telling the audience that he would avoid his problems with temporary getaways such as drugs and other activities of the sort, but now faces his present struggles and deals with them rather than ignoring them. Swimming brings a new mix of sounds to the table while maintaining his signature style which is heard in all of his discography. Miller channels this essence in “Small Worlds” and “Ladders” and switches the notch up in “Whats’s the Use?” the sound is groovy, with a mid-seventies disco era sound. He throws it back in “2009” taking us through his journey to success, and he reflects on his life before his big breakthrough in 2010 with the mixtape K.I.D.S elaborates on what he has learned over the past years. Although a renowned artist, Mac Miller remains an underrated artist and has not fully received credit for his craft and the works of his lyricism in each album that has been released. Swimming is definitely one for the books and emphasizes what a human being truly is, a soul full of mistakes, regrets, and truths.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MDC chapter.