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Post Malone ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ – Review

Some obvious bangers aside, Post Malone’s third album is a repetitive snooze fest that’s dragged down by mopey misogyny.

Post Malone wants you to know that he doesn’t trust anyone.

He spends his days drinking in his Lamborghini and avoids old friends that ask if their mums can get a ticket to his show. He fights with his girlfriend but buys her necklaces occasionally to appease her. He denounces all those who discredited him before he found wealth, and flaunts his designer garments with little humility.

If all this sounds cliché and depressing, it’s because it is. Post Malone’s ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ is disappointingly safe and formulaic, covering ground that he’s already extensively explored in both of his previous albums without saying anything new.

Instrumentally it’s exactly what you’d expect – acoustic guitars, atmospheric reverb, smooth vocal deliveries and basic trap drums. It’s purposefully dark in tone, and thus the end result just isn’t much fun. There’s only so long anyone can be interested in a white rich dude either bragging about fame or moping about relationships. By the seventeenth track it wears thin and I was desperate for one song that wasn’t about girls, cars, or Post’s own ego.

Overlong and bloated, most of ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ is easy but unambitious listening. It’s fine, I guess, but that lightning energy that was present on the smash hit ‘Sunflower’ isn’t really here, and far too much of it is focused on wealth and discrediting women.

Immune to the critical consensus

It’s worth remembering that Post Malone has never really been a hit with music critics or publications in general, yet continues to be one of the most commercially successful artists of his generation. Reviewing his work feels a little redundant because it’ll rise to the top of the charts for months on end, regardless of what any nerdy keyboard hipsters such as myself have to say.

It’s easy to see why he does so well, too. Post’s vocals are well produced and clean throughout this LP, drenched in reverb and crafted to take centre stage in every track. Deep, guttural drums and basic guitar chords keep things afloat pleasantly enough, and on occasion this setup works really well – ‘Enemies’, ‘Circles’, ‘Die For Me’, and ‘Take What You Want’ are likely to be smash hits in the future.

https://youtu.be/wXhTHyIgQ_U

Banger territory with disappointing throwaways

If anything, ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ highlights Post’s lack of self-analysis or critique. He seems to exist in a rich bubble of drink and cars, spending his free time blaming everyone else besides himself for the problems that arise in his friendships and relationships.

He’s quick to criticise the women in his life and big himself up, which comes off a bit grim, in all honesty. Lyrics such as ‘without that face, girl, you wouldn’t get far’ seem wildly hypocritical given that half of Post Malone’s original appeal was his unorthodox, rough appearance that doesn’t fit conventional trends. One rule for him and another for women, right?

On ‘A Thousand Bad Times’ he describes how a girl says she doesn’t know who he is, which he doesn’t believe. He’s too big to not know, of course, so any admirer should be expected to lap up in his fame. Elsewhere on ‘Im Gonna Be’ (spelt without the apostrophe) he indulges in alcohol, drinking until he’s ‘f***ed up’, and states that he’s going to be what he wants, and go hard until he’s gone.

Confidence is a great quality, but here it feels like a reckless charge of intensity that will inevitably end in burnout. Post Malone is a rich, young white guy calling women bitches, victimising himself, drinking too much and bragging about his cash. It’s boring, cliché, and comes off as gross, despite the smooth music that accompanies his vocals.

There’s so much more he could say about his unique perspective on the industry and his life, yet he chooses to play it safe, leaving us with a trap-pop hybrid that doesn’t offer anything new either thematically or stylistically.

Final Thoughts

If you dig Post’s previous albums then you’ll probably enjoy this too, as it follows a formula almost identical to the last two. For everyone else, though, ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ is further confirmation that Post Malone is best enjoyed in small doses, probably at parties or at a club, and should steer clear of long-form albums.

His cynical, distrusting attitude throughout gets grating, and his hypocritical double standards rubbed me the wrong way at times. There’s some bangers here and there, and tracks to enjoy when you’re out with friends, but for the most part this is one probably worth skipping until you hear it on the radio.

2
out of 5

'Hollywood's Bleeding' will keep fans happy, but probably won't be remembered a couple years from now.

There are a few bangers here and there, but the album's bogged down by unnecessary tracks and a bloated vibe.

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