Mac Miller - Swimming
Critic Score
Based on 21 reviews
2018 Ratings: #289 / 890
Year End Rank: #45
User Score
2018 Rank: #26
Liked by 1,099 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
The 405

If he found his stride nearly three years ago with GO:OD AM, he’s now confidently in full control, guiding Swimming down a surprisingly restrained, subtle journey into a heart’s bleakest turmoil.

90
Sputnikmusic

If Swimming is the masterstroke of an artist who left too soon, "2009" is its crown jewel, a song it's easy to believe ten years of music was leading up to.

81
GIGsoup
With the jazzy tunes and the conscious rhyming going hand in hand, Mac Miller touches the mind and souls of his listeners.
80
Evening Standard

Miller isn’t quite in that top flight of US rappers, yet he has an unerring ability to match his confessional rhymes with the perfect beat. It’s a comeback of cathartic hip hop that feels like a leap forward.

80
NME

The rapper's brutally honest fifth album is a stellar – if somewhat overlong – artistic statement.

80
Highsnobiety

Like an actual wave, Swimming’s moods crash and fall, then rise again, all while we frantically hold on to prevent being cast out to sea. Amid the maelstrom, Mac acts as the voice of the seas, somberly spewing line after line of pleas and resolutions to against solemn, jazzy funk.

80
XXL

Swimming merges enlightening, candid rhymes over funky beats, providing a transparent look at how Mac Miller hit a personal rock bottom and his vigorous climb to save himself.

80
The Guardian

His fifth official album is an ambling 13-song journey towards self-acceptance, one that does not end in triumph. Instead, it embraces the possibility that he’ll never have it all figured out.

80
The Independent
Miller has turned his anguish into one of the year’s most disarmingly pleasant records.
80
Northern Transmissions
While it’s not changing the game, Miller’s newest record brings forth powerful stories and production that always feels right for lyrics.
78
HipHopDX

Though the subject matter is enticing, Swimming does occasionally tread boring lulls. At its best, however, Miller’s latest project succeeds at being cathartic and is more lyrically mature than his previous work.

75
A.V. Club

He’s been a fratty master of ceremonies, a depressive Serious Artist, a half-convincing loverman. Swimming features the full suite of personas coagulated into a single voice.

75
Pitchfork

On his wounded fifth album, Mac Miller sings deftly about heartbreak and his mental state, capturing his resignation without turning sadness into a performative spectacle.

70
Slant Magazine

Swimming captures Miller at a creative apex where he's acutely aware of where he's been and where he can go.

70
FLOOD Magazine

The road to recovery is an arduous one, and Swimming is instilled with the hope that one day each of us—Miller included—can find peace of mind.

70
Rolling Stone

If Swimming doesn’t quite achieve greatness, it connects. You can hear his pain and perseverance, even if he struggles to put it into words.

70
Exclaim!

Forget any talk about the long-buzzed Mac Miller finally arriving as a fully formed MC on his latest album, Swimming.

70
AllMusic

Swimming is ample evidence that Miller can pick up the pieces and continue evolving, his grasp on thoughtful, introspective hip-hop getting stronger by the album.

60
The Observer
Most tracks float by in a pleasant if unremarkable funk-lite haze, but there’s an overall sense of Miller being older, wiser and more at peace than before.
60
The Irish Times

The 26-year-old Pittsburgh native's fifth album signifies an altogether more mature, well-rounded sound than his patchy earlier work. These aren't quite hard-hitting social commentaries, but Miller's cynical view on the fickle world of fame is illuminating at times.

rices
75

Took you long enough fantano

LepardRyan
55

I’m not particularly fond of this album but anyone actually giving this lower than a 50 is over exaggerating and a fantano dickrider.

eliiscool5
70

So tired of being so tired.

EᗰᗷᖇᗩᑕIᑎG OᑎEᔕEᒪᖴ, ᑭᗩᖇT 3:
TᕼE ᗩᑕKᑎOᗯᒪEᗪGEᗰEᑎT Oᖴ ᖴEᗩᖇ, ᔕᗯIᗰᗰIᑎG - ᗰᗩᑕ ᗰIᒪᒪEᖇ

[ᴀᴄᴋɴᴏᴡʟᴇᴅɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ /ƏᴋˈɴⱰʟꞮᴅƷᴍƏɴᴛ/
ɴᴏᴜɴ
ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴀᴅᴍɪᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴏꜰ.]

Mac Miller was not one that would stray away from experiments. Long gone was his ... read more

Alejandro__am7
88

Can't believe I haven't rated this yet, the production, ideas, stories on this album are some of the best you will hear.

100

this is poetry. so fucking special, heavenly, perfect, i love everything about this album, makes me speechless every damn time.

kodfish
92

one of my favorites from 2018, this being one of the projects that saved my life

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Track List

1Come Back to Earth
2:41
93
2Hurt Feelings
4:05
91
3What's the Use?
4:48
91
4Perfecto
3:35
84
5Self Care
5:45
96
6Wings
4:10
87
7Ladders
4:47
91
8Small Worlds
4:31
89
9Conversation, Pt. 1
3:30
80
10Dunno
3:57
85
11Jet Fuel
5:45
89
122009
5:48
93
13So It Goes
5:12
89
Total Length: 58 minutes
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Added on: July 13, 2018