Nowadays, it’s almost hard to remember when Post Malone’s music only had repetitive trap beats featuring monotone sing-rapping (with six early songs and eight total [so far] having over one billion plays, no one can deny his popularity). However, his household name status came when two tracks on his third album, “Circles” and “Sunflower,” dominated the charts in 2019. Let’s discuss how his fifth album, AUSTIN, continues this new legacy for the Texas-raised superstar.
The Music of Austin Post
Post Malone’s lyrics always failed him in his early career, resigned to the standard topics of drugs, women, and fame. He bridged the pop and rap world enough for a whirlwind of stardom on his first two albums, but any close analysis reveals the triteness and superficiality of a debuting rapper. When album #3 rolled around, the world instantly noticed his sudden shift in musical palette, with Hollywood’s Bleeding incorporating dynamic rap performances tinged with rock, R&B, and genuine pop ballads.
AUSTIN delivers on the potential for authenticity that Hollywood’s Bleeding began to hint at, relishing the nuance of his improved lyrics with a diverse yet subtle sonic slate of pop/rap and pop/rock. The bridge between these two albums, last year’s Twelve Carat Toothache, featured an admittedly similar approach of the mature artist; however, AUSTIN‘s lyrical cohesion gives it the slightest edge over its predecessor. Still, if you were a fan of Twelve Carat Toothache‘s vulnerable emotional purging, AUSTIN is a must-listen record.
Criticism for Post’s New Era
Post Malone, like all mainstream pop stars, received his fair share of negative criticism even in his growth period. Fans online seem to collectively agree that beerbongs & bentleys is the rapper’s best album, but change and growth in an artist are rarely unwelcome in our view. His continual attempts at broad appeal sprinkled throughout his mature albums prevent them from being wholly excellent, likely leading to worse reviews than necessary. Forgiving that aspect, Post Malone’s inclusion of traditional instrumentation, especially guitars, and ever-improving vocals unquestionably set these recent records apart. One notably influential critic is Anthony Fantano (The Needle Drop), who maintains that production choices of late pale in comparison to the repetitive trap beats on beerbongs & bentleys.
AUSTIN and The Power of Artistic Statements
The opening trio ending with the single “Chemical” forms an early apex for AUSTIN, where he shows off his purest singing yet by highlighting his familiar themes of self-loathing and emotional difficulties with clarity and poignancy. Since most of the record demonstrates actual singing instead Post’s signature hybrid, the strengthened, smoothed vocal performances lend significantly to his musical transformation across the album. If you can handle the one dull moment for every two or three songs that are bursting with life, AUSTIN is the pop album for you.
Like anyone discovering new aspects of their musical abilities, AUSTIN is far from perfect. He has not spent enough time with this sound to hone it the same way someone like The Weeknd has, churning out multiple similar albums before pinpointing the most effective sonic formula for success and acclaim. Thanks to AUSTIN, Post Malone is officially on that track, so it is almost criminal not to encourage him and other artists to follow that path instead of regressing.
AUSTIN is streaming now everywhere there is music.
