Album Review: Mac Miller – “The Divine Feminine”

By: Emmett Robinson Smith –

“The Divine Feminine, an album by Mac Miller,” Mac Miller’s new girlfriend Ariana Grande announces on “Congratulations,” the opening track from his new album. The statement, which sets the tone for the next 52 minutes – sensuous, plush, atmospheric – also doubles as an indicator that Mac Miller set out to make an album in the traditional sense of the word – that is, a concise artistic statement. This is a concept previously unexplored by Mac on previous efforts such as last year’s enjoyable but ultimately spotty GO:OD AM. Mac has upped the ante with his latest collection of songs because he wants it to be more than the sum of its parts. And – for the most part – he succeeds. With The Divine Feminine, the 24-year-old demands to be taken seriously as he seeks to break free of his reputation as a drugged-out low-stakes rapper.

“Congratulations” introduces many of the album’s motifs, most of which celebrate various tenets of monogamy. Mac Miller is in a good headspace right now – “Losin’ You,” featuring the consistently impressive Anderson Paak, is the sonic embodiment of this healthier psyche. Miller is the most vocally agile he’s ever been, and though he describes his struggle to navigate his relationship, the track’s production remains infectious and engaging. Vibrant horns adorn a trickling bassline and sparse rhythm guitar, creating a dancey iteration of the sound that defined Paak’s excellent album Malibu. It may appear strange for Miller of all people to latch onto this sound, but it works. And it works because Miller is surprisingly capable of not just writing tumbling, catchy verses but also delivering them in many ways, ranging from soft croons (“My Favorite Part”) to punchier bars (“Planet God Damn”).

For Miller, where there used to be drugs, there is now love. And where there is love, there is sex – and a lot of it, apparently. His new girlfriend Ariana Grande, the muse of it all, is seemingly the only thrill Miller needs – “I felt the highs and they felt like you,” he professes on “Congratulations”. Miller’s sexually charged lyrics reside comfortably with the sound of much the album – woozy synths, slinky basslines, and sparse funk percussion infused with trap elements.

“Cinderella” is by far the weirdest song on the album, merely because of the fact that the instrumentation and musical goings-on don’t match the lyrical content at all. DJ Dahi, who’s produced classics like “Worst Behavior” and “Money Trees,” delivers an uncharacteristically rudimentary mid-tempo guitar-driven beat. Ty Dolla Sign shows up to crank out a rather contrived hook about having sex (what else?) but the music is so ominous that his words sounds not provocative but sinister and, frankly, disturbing. The song, which was clearly intended as the album’s centrepiece given its mid-album placement and eight-minute duration, doesn’t match the sonic canvas of the rest of the album, making it stick out even more.

Luckily most of the best songs on The Divine Feminine come in the back half of the album, including the celestial “Soulmate”. Lush synths dart around like shooting stars while echoey Zaytoven-meets-Disclosure percussion drives the song. The great thing is how comfortable Miller sounds over this type of music as he extols his love, presumably for Ariana Grande.

The Divine Feminine is the biggest artistic step that Miller has taken thus far. It’s unpredictable, accessible, and addictive. Miller’s winning persona ties it all together, and his vocal dexterity makes it more than just a rap album about love. It’s hard to know where he’ll go from here, but if he keeps improving at this rate, whatever it is, it’ll be good.