Music Review: Circles
Malcolm James McCormick, better known by his stage name Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Mac’s musical origins began in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the young age of 15, going on to explore Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, and Alternative Rock throughout his discography. Unfortunately, Mac passed away last year from an overdose, a victim of the drug-related issues he often professed to have in his lyrics.
Naturally, when it was announced that Mac Miller’s label would be releasing a posthumous album, there was deserving contention and even anxiety amongst his more passionate fans. Would it be an exploitative move for money, mirroring that of the two latest posthumous XXXTentacion releases? Thankfully, this was not the case. Rather, Circles delivers a heart-wrenching, honest and bare take on Mac Miller’s contemplative, reflective, and ruminative attitude.
This album is more of an Alternative, Soft Rock, Neo-Soul R&B record, as most of the motifs that run throughout feature soft, melancholic chords in the form of strings or keys, steady acoustic (and mock-acoustic) drums, and of course, Mac’s subtly subdued vocals. These themes are clear in songs like the title track, where Mac contemplates how he feels stuck in an inexorably cyclic pattern in life, or That’s On Me, where Mac discusses his accountability in relation to his mental state over bittersweet guitar strumming and soft, acoustic drums.
I think the hardest part about listening to this album is considering how very surreal of an experience it is. For example, on Complicated, one of my favorites, Mac considers why things need to be so complex, saying, “Fore I start to think about the future First, can I please get through a day?” Production-wise, the song takes on a more funk-inspired, bouncy-synth attitude compared to most of the others, but lyrically, like every other song, it truly sounds like Mac wrote it as if he knew he was going to die. Everything from the instrumentation to Mac’s voice feels extremely organic across the entire album, and overall, Circles stands out as a beautiful and inspired record. Rest in peace, Mac.
Darlon Riviere - Staff Writer