The video features imagery of Miller in an abstract world with colorful animated landscapes. The lead single, " Good News", was released on January 9, 2020, alongside an accompanying music video directed by Anthony Gaddis and Eric Tilford. The track "Everybody" is a cover of American singer-songwriter Arthur Lee's "Everybody's Gotta Live", from his 1972 debut album Vindicator. The track " Blue World" includes production assistance from Guy Lawrence, one half of UK-based house production duo Disclosure. Pitchfork said the album was difficult to categorize, having so many different aspects. Composition Ĭritics have described the album as an hip hop, funk, and emo rap album with elements of soft rock, pop, R&B, lo-fi, indie folk, and synth-pop. It was released by Warner Records on January 17, 2020. Ĭircles was announced by Miller's family via a note on his Instagram account on January 8, 2020. Swimming and Circles were planned to be the first two installments in a trilogy of albums, where the last piece would have been "a pure hip-hop record", as described by Brion.
Jon Brion, who worked with Miller on the album, completed production "based on his time and conversations" with Miller. It was intended to be a companion album to Swimming (2018), with "two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle" and the concept being "swimming in circles". At the time of his death on September 7, 2018, Miller was "well into" the recording process of Circles.