Watching Movies with the Sound Off is the upcoming second studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. The album is scheduled to be released June 18, 2013 under Rostrum Records. The album continues his changes in his musical sound that he began with the mixtape Macadelic. Mac Miller has described the album as very introspective and very personal. The album features guest appearances from Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Schoolboy Q, Jay Electronica and Tyler, The Creator among others. Production will also be primarily handled by Miller himself (under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman) among others such as Diplo, Tyler, The Creator, Flying Lotus, Chuck Inglish and Pharrell Williams.
TRACKLISTING
01 The Star Room
02 Avian
03 I’m Not Real (feat. Vinny Radio & Earl Sweatshirt)
04 S.D.S.
05 Bird Call
06 Matches (feat. Ab-Soul)
07 I Am Who Am (Killin’ Time) [feat. Niki Randa]
08 Objects In the Mirror
09 Red Dot Music (feat. Action Bronson)
10 Gees (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
11 Watching Movies
12 Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes (feat. Jay Electronica)
13 Remember
14 Someone Like You
15 Aquarium
16 Youforia
The first single was "S.D.S." was released on April 22, 2013.
Quote:
On May 4, 2013 Mac Miller announced on Twitter that the second single off the album would be titled, "Watching Movies" which was produced by himself along with SAP.
The Source (80)
- Mac Miller’s ‘Watching Movies with the Sound Off” is a solid body of work that will propel the MC further in his career. The strongest asset the album possesses is Mac’s ability to obtain features that successfully blended in with the concept of the album. Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, ScHoolboy Q, the ever allusive Jay Electronica and Tyler, The Creator all provide a vital piece to this cinematic puzzle, even Loaded Lux’s outro to “Red Dot Music” is a memorable occasion. While ‘Watching Movies with the Sound Off’ lacked that strong single to support the album’s release and the young Mac still has time to fully develop the direction in which he proceeds from at this point in time, the Most Dope spitter crafted a cinematic achievement that is definitely most dope.
Clash Music (80)
- With ‘Movies’, Miller channels his past addiction into an impressive set of stoner rap, far beyond the carefree ‘Blue Slide Park.’ These sounds are heavier and Miller flows naturally in this element. He still likes a good time, but he’s giving us more of himself in the process. Looks like he’s growing up after all.
HipHopDX (80)
- Whatever adolescent deficiencies Mac Miller dealt with throughout his prodigious rise as Rostrum’s second brain child, Watching Movies With The Sound Off genuinely keeps him grounded for a calculated performance that will earn him the respect he’s craved since his Easy Mac days. Miller doesn’t pander for a clear cut radio single, nor does he let the fear of Internet backlash obstruct his experimental approach. In that respect, the Pittsburgh emcee is right back where he started; kickin’ incredibly dope ****.
Exclaim (80)
- The huge strides he's made between 2011's Blue Slide Park and this release exemplify the reverence he has for what he does and the hard work he dedicates to it. Mac Miller emphatically joins a higher tier of rap artists with Watching Movies, an effort that at once silences his detractors and rewards his faithful following.
XXL (80)
- Sean Ryon of XXL gave the album an XL, saying "Sonically speaking, Watching Movies With The Sound Off falls somewhere between Pharell and Madlib, deeply rooted in the sounds of Stones Throw that manages to bridge the gap to contemporary mainstream hip-hop. Cuts like the Flying Lotus-produced single “S.D.S.,” “Bird Call” and “Red Dot Music” veer towards his backpacker leanings while “Objects In The Mirror” and “Youforia” have R&B tendencies. Despite the disparity of styles, the album’s sequencing affords it a greater sense of cohesion.
Entertainment Weekly (75)
- Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B, saying "On his new Watching Movies With the Sound Off, the willfully goofy Miller has evolved — to a point. "Objects in the Mirror" and "Aquarium" are surprisingly self-reflective, but the dumb-fun party jams are half as infectious as before, and twice as misogynistic.
Pitchfork (70)
- Watching Movies with the Sound Off is steeped in the pathos of Mac’s bad year and the musical influence, both direct and indirect, of his new rap friends. It’s the wide-eyed kid brother of Blue Slide Park home from college extolling the virtues of meditation and salvia...
Watching Movies with the Sound Off reintroduces Mac Miller as a druggy philosopher on the mic and a left field talent behind the boards. Gone are the undercooked shaggy dog stories of Blue Slide Park and mixtapes like Best Day Ever. In their place we get a batch of songs that break the surface with snarling, self-deprecating wit (“I don’t act hard/ Still read Babar” from opener “The Star Room”) and musings on mortality (“Probably be dead soon inhaling cigarette fumes” on “Avian”) and drugs (“That fetanyl, it numbs me/ ...Turns you into a junkie” on “Someone Like You”)...
Also, while all of the guest spots here are welcome deviations from Miller’s adroit Stones’ Throw homage, they routinely punctuate how much room he’s got left to grow as a writer. It’s highlighted most poignantly on “Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes”, where Jay Electronica shows up unannounced to kick a nonsensical verse, his first in years, and blows the whole album sky high just recounting the story of The Wizard of Oz, and also in the spoken word interlude after “Red Dot Music”, which features breakout battle rap star Loaded Lux lampooning “Easy Mac with the cheesy raps”, ruthlessly snarling “Who the **** is Mac Miller?” Watching Movies with the Sound Off begins to broach the subject, but the question still stands.
Rolling Stone (70)
- Miller, who already boasts a Number One debut and an MTV2 show chronicling his daily life – often raps like he's juggling, keeping aloft key themes (new fame, adolescent insecurity, blow jobs) while delivering lots of self-deprecating patter. On Watching Movies, he tosses in a chain saw: punch-drunk slow-and-arty beats he produced with Diplo, Flying Lotus and his pal Earl Sweatshirt... Having fully absorbed Eminem, Miller wants to experiment with hipper stuff: pitch-shifted hooks and rap-nerd picks like Action Bronson and Jay Electronica (who get guest verses). There's no new "Trump," but the horn-spiked "Goosebumpz" brings a whole different ruckus and one of Miller's best punch lines: "When I die, bet she **** my hologram." Hologram status is a long way off. But he'll settle for you believing he's for real.
---
"MAC MILLER'S sophomore effort is a surprising and focused album from an artist fed up with his public perception. He does enough here to prove his point." - XXL Magazine
"Watching Movies with the Sound Off is steeped in the pathos of Mac’s bad year and the musical influence, both direct and indirect, of his new rap friends. It’s the wide-eyed kid brother of Blue Slide Park home from college extolling the virtues of meditation and salvia." - Pitchfork
