After his first official releases “K.I.D.S” (2010) and “Blue Slide Park” (2011), The public was left with the impression that Mac Miller was a messy delinquent who didn’t take anything seriously, due to quickly fade away into mediocrity. This couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
It’s mothers day of 2014, and the late Mac Miller drops one of, if not his most critically acclaimed project: Faces. Fresh off his 2013 album Watching Movies with the Sound off, Miller was eager to further prove the music world of what he was capable of.
At 25 tracks and an hour and a half long, Faces is a raw and dark journey into Miller’s introspective thoughts involving his rise to fame, as well as his struggles with drug addiction and mental health.
We are immediately struck with this theme in the intro track “Inside Outside,” where he states “I shoulda died already (Faces), Came in I was high already / E’rybody trippin’ that my mind ain’t steady (Faces) / For my sin, shoulda been crucified already rah!” The slowed and melancholic instrumentals from the sample of The Crusaders 1979 hit “My Lady” sucks the listener into Miller’s twisted state of mind.
This project isn’t all doom and gloom though.
Track two, “Here we go,” follows up with a seemingly more bright and confident version of Mac, chanting lyrics like “Polo pajamas I think I made it / I showed my mom my first million / she damn near fainted,” and “I did it all without a Drake feature!”
The minute long dialogue taken from the film Knights Oath (2005) and upbeat instrumentals sampled from The Delfonics 1969 single “My new love,” further symbolize Mac’s feeling of accomplishment at this point in his career.
Earl Sweatshirt features on track nine, “Polo Jeans,” to the similar theme of darkness and brutal honesty.
Earl’s somber and moody approach add to the familiar vibe throughout the album, where he raps “And lately, I don’t like s*** I been inside on the daily / Gettin’ wasted as the time that I’m spending high and sedated.” The production, credited to Earl himself, contributes to the theme of gloominess we hear throughout the track.
By the time we get to track 24, “Grand Finale”, you may be left pondering how it may relate to situations you’re dealing with or just down right depressed. This track will only intensify those feelings with its brutal honesty.
Honesty might even be an understatement in this case, as he opens the track with “And if by chance this is my grand finale / Bury me in Allegheny County”. It’s truly a heavy hitting but seemingly beautiful ending to such a great album, which would be followed by even more classics in The Divine Feminine (2016) and Swimming (2018).
In the end, Mac Miller left us with an album that’s bound to leave you paralyzed with uncomfortable emotions and relatable truths. It’s rare to see an artist be so open about their own mental and substance abuse issues, which in turn gets the audience to appreciate his honesty and realness.
Mac Miller would tragically lose his battle with drug addiction on September 7th, 2018. Despite his physical absence, Faces and his other projects alike have lived on and helped millions of people around the world who are battling their own demons with his honest lyrics and relatable themes.
