It has been pretty hard to avoid Post Malone as of late. It feels as if his music has been everywhere for the past few years. After giving his third studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding, a listen, it is pretty easy to see why.
Debuting in the #1 spot on Billboard’s Top 200 and selling 493 units, Hollywood’s Bleeding follows 2017’s hit album, beerpongs & bentleys. Of note, Hollywood’s Bleeding features standout singles such as “Goodbyes” featuring Young Thug, “Sunflower” featuring Swae Lee and “Wow,” all dropped before the album even released. This doesn’t take away from the listening experience since the older singles pair well with all of the new tracks on the album.
The opening track, “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” sets the tone for the rest of the album. Post Malone sings about his struggles with not only the lifestyle in Hollywood but the lifestyle of fame as well. It pairs well with tracks like “Enemies” and “Take What You Want,” both giving the listener insight on how Post Malone is handling the fame and all of the baggage that comes with it! This is certainly a recurring theme on the album and often results in excellent, heart-wrenching vocals from Posty, due to the seriousness of the matter.
While Hollywood’s Bleeding has great insight into many of the issues that come with fame and fortune, it doesn’t really do that well of a job at switching it up from song to song. After a minute of listening, the songs start to sound the same. Even though they are catchy in their own regard, songs like “Allergic,” “Staring at the Sun,” and “I’m Gonna Be” all sound like Post Malone singing about how much he has done since blowing up, and how that usually leads to bad decisions or him returning to his old ways. While it’s definitely great to hear him talking about everything he has accomplished and all that he’s been through, it gets old quick.
The thing that saves him on this album is the quality of the features. Artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Travis Scott, SZA, Halsey, and even Future all knock their verses out of the park, sometimes even outshining Posty on his own song. If it weren’t for the variety and quality of features, Hollywood’s Bleeding would fall apart fairly quickly. The tracks get better as the album goes on, as the features become more prevalent and help keep them from falling apart. This doesn’t mean that Post Malone is consistently outdone on his own album. His performance on songs like “Hollywood’s Bleeding” and “Circles” are some of the strongest ever seen from him. They work to save the album from becoming boring and repetitive.
Overall, Hollywood’s Bleeding is a great album. Although it has its drawbacks, it still does a good job telling the story of a man who has to handle the struggles of fame and fortune, all while trying to balance it with his personal life. Songs such as “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” “Enemies,” and “Take What You Want” do a great job at expressing all of the obstacles that Post Malone has had to overcome due to his fame and fortune. Some themes include broken friendships, lost love, and the constant desire to be able to go back to how things used to be. All make for a great listen.
It’s pretty easy to see why everybody is listening to it – it doesn’t disappoint vocally and has great features. Although some songs do end up sounding the same, it doesn’t take too much away from the project as a whole. In the end, it’s a great album, and we’ll definitely be listening to it for the next few months.