Second-year of uni is always a bit of a shit storm. You’ve convinced yourself you’ve taken the wrong course and the girl you snogged in your first week has gone back to her home town boyfriend. If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where you think you’ve peaked too early, Post Malone’s got your back.
Hollywood’s Bleeding is thoughtful. It’s Post Malone tickling the edge of proper star status, and his existential crisis holding him back. Like, it’s decent being rich and famous but GOD the girls and drugs are so unfulfilling, y’know? His sophomore offering is a fuzzy, electric powerhouse with no less than 16 tracks…
It’s not often you see a star, with two whole albums under his belt, able to share the spotlight with other artists but Post definitely isn’t shy of a feature. It was really sweet of him to feature “Ozzy Osbourne” with ‘Take What You Want’; silly name though, he won’t go far. ‘Die For Me’ is just further evidence that a Halsey verse improves everything (she goes as far as saying herself, Gal ain’t wrong). And, my oh my a Father John Misty credit? What’s is going on?
The problem here, however, is that it’s a bit heavy on the sad stuff. There are some well-made tracks don’t get me wrong, but Malone, you could have broadened the topics a bit? We’ve all had our hearts broke. She lied to you Posty, have a pint and send her a drunk DM. By the end, it becomes a tad monotonous and grating, and dare I say reminded me of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s ‘formula’.
It’s past the highlights and headlights of moving into halls. It’s past the comedown of freshers week and sounds like Posty misses his mum on a Saturday afternoon. ‘I’m only 24 but bitch, I’ve been through it all’ – yeah, Post Malone’s got shit on his mind, but with more focus – and maybe a harsh cut – Hollywood’s Bleeding could have accomplished way more.
Haiku Review
Post is a bit sad,
By the end, I was also,
Not sure if that’s good?
Listen to Post Malone on Spotify and Apple Music.