On Sept. 6, Post Malone released his third album, entitled “Hollywood’s Bleeding.” Before releasing the album, he dropped four of the included songs as singles: “Sunflower,” “Wow.,” “Goodbyes” and “Circles.” These were solid indications of what was to come, but not completely encompassing all the new songs and styles to be released, leaving some nice surprises for listeners.
The album opens with the line, “Hollywood’s bleeding, vampires feedin’/darkness turns to dust,” which sets the tone for not only the song, but for the album describing Malone’s feelings of solitude, loneliness, and isolation created by living and working in the music industry and not knowing who your friends and supporters are. It starts very slowly, leading up to a surprise beat drop, making the flow more similar to a typical Post Malone song, followed by another change of pace in the song, keeping it evolving and rapidly changing, potentially as a representation of how Malone’s career has skyrocketed and his opinion on Hollywood and fame has changed during his time as an artist.
“Hollywood’s Bleeding” as an album has the same laid-back vibes and aesthetic as his previous two albums, but with underlying repeating themes of failed relationships and feeling alone in the world. His smooth vocals tie together the album despite differing genres included, even in more intense songs like “Allergic,” which is very reminiscent of 90s indie-rock.
One of the main standouts of the album is definitely “Take What You Want,” which features Travis Scott (“Astroworld”) and Ozzy Osbourne (“Scream”). Although it may seem like a strange collaboration and choice for Malone to produce and put on the album, he has said he is a huge heavy metal fan and he definitely found a way to bring both heavy metal and his sort of pop/R&B/rap music style together in a surprisingly coherent and flowing way.
What is especially unique about this album is that there is a little bit of everything. If you like more of a pop sound, there is “Sunflower.” If you prefer rock there is, “Take What You Want.” If you like pop punk, there is “A Thousand Bad Times.” Malone has managed to appeal to such a large audience without losing his signature sound or messages in his songs, which will definitely contribute to his future popularity, and makes seamless transitions between songs.
He also managed to release an album full of hugely popular and known musicians, like Halsey (“Friends Keep Secrets”), SZA (“WWW.”) and Meek Mill (“Championships”) which will attract listeners and fans of all different genres of music. Not only was that a great move because it would attract those who may not normally listen to his music, but it also allowed him to experiment with different genres, which really worked out in his favor. Malone is already known for mixing pop, rock, hip hop, and R&B into his own sort of genre and now, he is mixing more genres, evolving his abilities as an artist, and making amazing new songs. As of right now, the album is headed towards number one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart, and it is pretty easy to understand why. Post Malone did it again; another hit album.
Image from Post Malone via YouTube
