Post Malone - AUSTIN Album Review

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Post Malone is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in modern popular music. After bursting onto the rap scene with his 2016 ‘White Iverson’ single, and later his 2017 album ‘Stoney’, he quickly gained an audience with his unique mix of styles, combining elements of pop-rap with flourishes of country guitar, alongside heartbroken and braggadocious lyrics, but still with an ear and indeed voice for an irresistible pop hook. He went onto develop this further with what many, including myself, may consider to be his best album: ‘beerbongs and bentleys’ in 2018. It wasn’t a perfect record by any means, but showed his pre-established skills amplified to very high levels indeed, with a fair few hit singles along with it. Following that though, while I enjoyed a few tracks from 2019’s ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’, there were also a fair few that just didn’t interest me, a problem that worsened with ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’ two years later. Now though, it appears Post is returning to his singer-songwriter roots on his new album, ‘Austin’, on which reportedly every track features guitar played by him.

Now on paper, this change of tact seems like a step in the right direction for Post. After all, at least in my opinion, ’Twelve Carat Toothache’ had some decent spots, but it seemed to be overcast by a sense of downtrodden moodiness that often got in the way of the songs themselves, and so returning to a form where breezy, dreamy vibes and catchy melodies were the focal point seemed like a good choice to make. That being said, I wasn’t sure whether such a sound palette had staying power. Granted, if he had the songs to back it up, he had the potential to make his best album since ‘beerbongs’, if not his best ever. The thing is, delivering what I would presume to be mostly the same brand of catchy, guitar based pop, for nearly an hour, and without a single feature, while still managing to keep interest up, seemed a near impossible task. Not to mention the tracklist. Even on his best albums, Post has had a problem with over inflated tracklists, and at 17 tracks strong, it makes this album’s previous mission seem all the more out of reach. However, I made sure to remain optimistic. Maybe a change of approach really is all he needs, and if he’s made a really good album before, I thought if he was gonna do it again, this would be the one he’d do it on. So, does a return to big choruses, big melodies and big vibes see the quality levels rise to match them? Or, is this album a case of having way too much of a seemingly good thing, to the point it becomes a detriment…

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zECL6rchq00
Buy it yourself: https://shopuk.postmalone.com

My blog: https://evanwhittonhourblog.blogspot.com

Background music:
Wu Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEhS6wtURB0)
Freddie Joachim - Waves (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykZHqx84YS0)