By Mason Rosse
The award-winning artist Post Malone just released a new album. Named “Hollywood’s Bleeding”, the album has generally gained praise. According to Billboard 100 every song off of the “Album Chart[ed] on the Billboard Hot 100.” In line with the public praise for the album, I have also enjoyed the “Hollywood’s Bleeding”. Overall, I love the way that Post Malone mixes R&B and Rap. Here are some of my favorites and least favorites from my first time listening to the album. My favorite songs were “Hollywood’s Bleeding” and “Take What You Want”.
In “Hollywood’s Bleeding”, Post Malone uses a very ambient and melodic tone. As the first song on this album, it tones for the album very well, with a song about heartbreak. Malone also ties this tone into ideas about how Hollywood is falling apart. Overall, the production on this song is great, and it completes the vibe that Post is going for.
The other song I love is “Take What You Want”, which features Ozzy Ozborne and Travis Scott. Ozzy Ozbourne has a very good chorus, where he talks about the end of a relationship. He tells the other person to “take what [they] want,” and how he needed nothing from them. Ozzy Osbourne’s voice perfectly goes with the rap drums and the electric guitar. Then comes Travis’ feature. I love the ambient vibe he creates, but, honestly, I don’t really understand what he says. If your listening casually, his part fits really well with the rest of the song, but if your listening for meaning, not really. Then followed by a guitar solo, which balances the song of rap and rock perfectly. Post Malone kills this song too, with a great verse and intros into the hooks.
A close runner up to my favorite songs is “Enemies”, featuring Dababy. This is hit number one on the album at some point. I am a huge fan of Dababy and I have enjoyed his music for a very long time, so hearing him featured on this album was great. The only problem with this song is the melody. I don’t love the sound choice for the melody, and it doesn’t really go with Post Malone’s voice which leads this song not to be one of my favorites.
Now, for my least favorites. My two least favorite songs on the album are “Allergic” and “Saint Tropez”. In “Allergic,” Post Malone throws away the whole vibe of the album and goes for something that sounds really similar to a lot of the pop/rock songs that were famous in the past. It ends up sounding like Post Malone is trying to appeal to people outside his typical fanbase. I dislike “Saint Tropez” is for a similar reason to “Allergic”, it also ruins the vibe of the album. If this was released separately as a single it would have made more sense, but as the second song on the album, it just feels out of place. It goes from a song about heartbreak, to a song that brags about his wealth. Ultimately, I think Post Malone went for too much of a “radio song” in these songs.
Overall, I feel that the album as a whole is exceptional. It’s about a heartbreak that Post Malone went through, and him questioning why he still lives in Hollywood. Thematically It all fits into how Hollywood is “bleeding.”In addition, the features are so well chosen. For example, it doesn’t seem like Halsey, Ozzy Ozbourne, or SZA would fit on a Post Malone song, but they all fit in their own way. Some of the songs have unusual features that I would have never thought would have happened, but they fit on the album so well. Post Malone created a great album, arguably his best. I am only hoping he can continue this in the future.
Sources
- https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8530171/post-malone-hollywoods-bleeding-hot-100 Billboard 100 article
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5GrxfjuTTI&list=OLAK5uy_mX9d9zsFckvzZEXQtDpdjnMdeZJrV9Wnc The Album