The Divine Feminine Review
The Divine Feminine isn’t an attempt to define femininity, and it sure isn’t a record that simply boasts a collection of intimate songs thrown together to entice the ears with jazz inspired love ballads. The record is a concept in the exploration of love and emotions, seeking out what brings two people closer together and the necessity of affection being one of the only ideologies that is truly pertinent to happiness. Mac Miller was seeking to create a record that explored a characteristic that in essence, transcended space and time, conjuring a range of feelings that were hard to imagine as just being ones of this world alone. The Divine Feminine is pure love on a cosmic level, imagined within the mind of someone inside a different dimension outside of space and time, conveying empyrean thoughts not only existing on earth but ones so beautiful and celestial that they are better understood in the context of intangibility and an ethereal mindset high above what is perceived on a mortal plain of existence.
Mac Miller visualized this record with the idea of love and
the Universe being complimentary of each other, bringing people closer together
across a vast emptiness and lonely existence. The records first cut “Congratulations”
introduces the journey Mac wants us to undertake with female voices first
whispering “Where are You?” as if to highlight the idea that these two people
will slowly journey towards the other throughout the album by having the
universe converge and bring them back together. The cut features some gorgeous
piano melodies of a somber and intimate quality accentuated by Miller’s
nonchalant, but deeply invigorating, crooning vocals. Bilal features on this
track near the end and sings “Your loving brings, Brings me sunshine, I found
an angel so divine, Heaven probably not the same without you, But now you’re in
my world, In my world.” These lyrics showcase the concept this album is seeking
to flesh out, those of a figure regarded as “divine” being brought down to Mac’s
“world” and how through the power of love this is made possible. “Dang!” is a cut
that sees Mac and Anderson .Pakk attempt
to reconnect with girls they lost touch with, opening up to their soft and sensitive
sides with the hope of changing this connection through vulnerability. The production
is immaculate, with the percussion being mellow and groovy in nature, spurred
along by jazzy guitar chords and some blissful horn synths that evolve into
different melodies and harmonies throughout.
The Divine Feminine delves
into many facets of love and relationships, some more readily visible than
others on this project. Mac Miller explores the physical aspects as well as the
emotional vices experienced through love that he believes are transcendent and
vital in this concept he presents to the listener. The track “Stay” is one that
has Mac see his thoughts travelling a million miles a minute, desperately trying
to understand why this person he sings about will not stay with him and how
these thoughts are inhibiting to him and ultimately damaging to this
relationship. He sings “I know you stressin’ you don’t gotta keep me guessin,’
I’m full of questions, in return I get the silent treatment, I don’t know why I’m
speakin’ you say, you say, you say, It’s way too late, goodbye, you leavin.’” It
is clear that Mac is troubled by the signals he is receiving from this person
and the questions he is left with are crucial elements to the concept presented
by this record, examining emotions that bring people together or end up pushing
them away. The instrumentation on “Stay” is intoxicating, laced with sexy horn
synths and saxophone melodies that push this track into a metaphysical nature
that is coherent with the divination concept this record presents. The track “Planet
God Damn” is a laid back funky song that sees Mac characterize the woman he
sings about as “godly,” once again tying into the divine concept of this album.
The track dives into the experiences two people have together and the lengths that
Mac will go to in an attempt to please this person. The track is accentuated by
some seraphic basslines and a steady, groovy vibe Mac and guest feature Njomza
create through their luscious vocalization.
At the time of this record’s release, Mac Miller was still
dating Ariana Grande and while some speculated this album was directed towards
her, it was not and the only track that is actually referencing her is “Cinderella.”
The track is unfortunately mediocre, featuring some decent production with a powerful
synth note that adds a little bit of flare, but ultimately being phoned in with
a lackluster performance by the feature on here of Ty Dolla $ign. His vocals
have almost no character to them whatsoever and sound as if he just recovered
from the flu to give the most unenthusiastic guest verse he could. Mac does
well to make up for this with some intimate and soulful lyrics, but the track
is marred through by-the-numbers production and stylistically flat, unbothered
vocal performances. The track “Soulmate” is an amped up electro-jazz funk
banger that features an undulating synth characterizing the head-bobbing vibe
of this track quite well. There are a plethora of other groovy synth chords
utilized throughout that give the instrumentation a rich texture of deeply emotional
and creative sounds, expounded on with Mac’s fantastic performance. He sings “Open
up, let me inside, When you take off all your clothes, I’m under your control,
Rollin’ up you get me high, You were the one to show divine love, love, love,
love.” This one lyric could potentially epitomize the entire theme of The Divine Feminine. Mac has found his soulmate and believes that
she has let him inside of her thoughts, and when they are intimate with each
other the two qualities of the physical and the spiritual have been realized
and this is what composes the dichotomy of a feminine that is regarded as divine; physical love and spiritual or emotional love. “My Favorite Part”
features Ariana Grande and details the joy and other feelings felt by two
people who are in love
Mac Miller was at his essence a lover and a believer in
others. He knew that he embodied these ideologies but was unable to express
them in mere definitions or his daily actions. The idea of love as a concept
that was far away up in the clouds sounds like a far cry from true happiness
and the feeling of being complete, but this was not what Mac envisioned. He set
out to create a record that put emotions of love and relationships on a holy
pedestal, likening them to an angel or some other form of divination. For Mac
Miller, love is a force that exists to bring people together and one that is
everlasting and intertwined within the fabric of the universe. The Divine Feminine is a concept that
seeks to understand the mysteries and fascinations associated with love and how
they ultimately transcend our consciousness to bring true love out of the
shadows and up into the light.
Score:8/10
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