Coming off of his debut album, Mac Miller was deflated, to say the least. Despite landing at the top of the Billboard charts after a massive first week in sales, the critical reception was lukewarm. Miller had a hell of a buzz going into Blue Slide Park after releasing several successful mixtapes for free via websites like Datpiff. These mixtapes introduced us to the fun-loving, highly thoughtful brand of hip-hop Miller coined for himself all those years ago, filling his verses with vivid imagery of high school parties and an aloof lifestyle. Ironically, aloofness is the furthest thing from an apt descriptor of the Pittsburgh native. Underneath his rhymes of beer and weed laid a Bob Dylan-obsessed multi-instrumentalist just waiting for the opportunity to introduce himself to the world. Ten years ago, Miller began to transition from the mixtape wunderkind to a master beat craftsman with a pen that can stand next to the most celebrated artists across hip-hop’s history.
Some of the most interesting pieces of information on Watching Movies With The Sound Off come from the album’s recording process. Miller recorded a reported 400 songs for his sophomore LP and scrapped two fully complete albums before landing on the 19 songs before us today. At the time, Miller was living in his now infamous Los Angeles mansion and working on songs in the studio attached to the massive dwelling. This home studio has become the stuff of legend, anyone and everyone has been reported at least seen at this studio, if not recording to Miller’s new interest in beat making. Everyone from Future to Q-Tip has been seen at Miller’s home, all contributing to the colorful discography the artist left behind. Watching Movies With The Sound Off is our first proper introduction to this new side of Mac Miller, one whose restlessness would birth some of the best music of his career.
Watching Movies With The Sound Off was released on June 18 via Rostrum Records. This release marked a major shift in the sonic direction of Mac Miller with the artist producing some of his own songs for the first time, crafting cosmic instrumentals under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman. With the likes of Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, Pharrell Williams, and Clams Casino rounding out the production credits, Miller’s sophomore LP hosts some of the best producers in modern times. The LP is the marriage of Miller’s obsession with 90’s hip-hop and his refusal of the label “frat rap”, a term coined to describe the party-driven lyrics of his earlier work. Miller’s relentless pursuit of creative satisfaction forced his sophomore album to become an expansive journey of experimentation for the artist, with everything from his vocal delivery to his ear for beats getting some revamping.
Watching Movies With The Sound Off finds its consistency in the lack of it, creating a collage-style listening experience. The intimidating baritone keys of “I’m Not Real” are greeted with the unconventional funk and comedic tendencies of “S.D.S”. Miller wanted to prove his diversity on this album, meticulously crafting its sonic palette to fit the artist’s larger-than-life vision. Everything from jazz to soul is explored as Miller filtered his influences through his own viewpoint to find the unique sonic direction of the album. “I Am Who I Am (Killin’ Time)” features drums that sound like a punch in the gut while still deploying hints of ambiance to soften the blow. The single “Watching Movies” leans on warping synths while the energetic “Goosebumpz” uses the “everything but the kitchen sink” method to find its chaotic textures.
The album kicks off with “The Star Room”, an Earl Sweatshirt-produced psych-rap escapade. A high-pitched vocal filter is applied to Miller’s vulnerable lyrics, ushering in this new state of mind for Miller in the most startling yet satisfying means. The youthful glow of Miller’s voice is now covered with a layer of experience, years of navigating the industry turned Miller cold and he was thirsty for an escape from it all. Tucked away in his home studio, Miller was free and that freedom allowed him to reinvent his sound altogether. His rhyme schemes were more complex, just look at the puzzling pockets Miller dives into on the Jay Electronica-assisted “Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes” or his crooning on heartfelt ballads like “Object In The Mirror” or “Youforia”. Miller’s past and future find a middle ground on the childish yet hard-hitting “Gees” while “Avian” continues to explore Miller’s poisonous pen.
Watching Movies With The Sound Off was a rebirth for Mac Miller. The artist looked to prove critics of his past work wrong by crafting an artistic vision that cannot be duplicated. The 19-songs that appear on his sophomore album must have gone through rigorous testing to land a spot on this tracklist, giving the album a feeling of freedom while still feeling deeply personal and intimate. He achieved a new sense of self while still creating music that, even 10 years later, sounds refreshing. Miller’s discography is filled with moments of musical ecstasy, Watching Movies With The Sound Off marked a new era in this discography that gifted us some of his best music ever. The sophomore slump was nowhere in sight for Miller, the vision he executed was undeniably his own, leaving a shining monument to his legacy.
