Post Malone - Hollywood's Bleeding

Post Malone
Hollywood's Bleeding
2019
Spotify

I don't know if being from the Los Angeles area has always turned me off to songs that try to celebrate the lifestyle of Hollywood. They often get it completely wrong (see anything G-Eazy or Machine Gun Kelly have ever done) and manage to scribble together some half thought ideas they learned from TV or the movies. It's a trope so many artists that pop fall into: move to Los Angeles, make it the only thing you write about then go back home to find your original voice again. It's happened time and time again, however not quite here. Instead of a song about how hard Hollywood has been and how much his life has changed Posty instead just keeps making the catchy trap infused pop songs he's been making since the beginning. I don't have the hate that a lot of people have for Post Malone. Sure he is kind of a bumbling goof, constantly high or in some state of intoxication and a bane to all face tattoo loving parents. The thing about Post Malone though is He is so harmless. While the song titles of Hollywood's Bleeding are ominous and dark, the actual content of the songs is often quite pleasant. Take "A Thousand Bad Times" a song with a title which makes you think just how bad things can be going for Post Malone, but then the song ends up being kind of a bop and about far more than the struggles Post has faced. "Die For Me" with Future and Halsey has reaffirmed my assertion that Future is absolutely awful, and Halsey is one of the most perfect companions for Post Malone's voice.

"Sunflower" a song previously released for the Spiderman animated movie, is an absolute stunner and likely one of the best songs of the year. Both Post Malone and Swea Lee are different than they've been before but also at their very best. It's interesting to see these guys shift into more pop centric styles when Trap is what made them famous in the first place. However if you think tastes are never going to change, you are going to be severely disappointed. The Ozzy Osbourne collaboration feels pretty gimmicky and really doesn't move the needle. The thing about Post Malone is he speaks the language of kids today, He isn't trying to be more refined or create an album that stands the test of time, it supposed to be about today. So much of culture is disposable now you either need to embrace that fact or battle as hard as possible against it. Post Malone takes the former path, and it's lead to some pretty damn good work. While the title might be atrocious, Hollywood's Bleeding is anything but. Give Posty a shot will ya?

8.0 out of 10