Mac Miller Swimming [Explicit Content] (2 LP)

Mac Miller Swimming [Explicit Content] (2 LP)Following 2016's ode to love The Divine Feminine, Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller avoids treading water and continues his artistic maturation on his fifth full length, Swimming. As flowing as the title suggests, Swimming undulates with laid back slacker soul and hypnotic production, like a lava lamp bobbing along calm waves. Inspired by events preceding the album's release, Miller's moody and introspective lyrics hint at the post breakup black cloud

relying on Reed's songwriting over the band's overall musicality

not so much a timekeeper as an underground detonation device

trippy "She Brings the Rain" and the immortal funk jams "Vitamin C" and "Mushroom" are among the most memorable and instantly appealing selections in the group's sprawling catalog

relying less on outright blues and roots explorations and more on a classic singer/songwriter type of approach

and Trouble Will Find Me's best moments -- the propulsive "Don't Swallow the Cap" and the one-two sucker punch of pre-set closers "Humiliation" and "Pink Rabbits" -- find Matt Berninger and his laconic baritone nervously pacing the deck of a sinking ship while simultaneously trying to find his sea legs as his bandmates constantly pull the rug out from under him with familiar rhythms and melodies that hide countless trap doors

and the release of Revival in 2015

but in the meantime

Pavement: Stephen Malkmus

dissolution

Released: 6/15/18

he turns his pain into art as he does a deep dive into exploration of technique and sound

and "Palace of the Brine