The third studio album from certified-platinum pop star Post Malone, was announced just a few days before its release as a surprise to fans, and its track list promised a dense, star-studded set of tracks. Combining features from Future, Young Thug, Halsey, SZA and Ozzy Osbourne with Malone’s uncanny ability to put out hit after hit, there was no reason to think the project couldn’t surpass beerbongs & bentleys as his best release.
As it turns out, Hollywood’s Bleeding is just another batch of churned-out pop-rap designed to get maximum airplay. Only half of the tracks here are worth listening to, and even fewer measure close to Malone’s best.
There are a handful of tracks that do have real replay value, and one of them is “Sunflower.” The track still sounds as good as it did when it helped soundtrack Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse last year. Let me repeat that: last year.
The title track has some pretty catchy melodies, and “Wow” has a decent hook, but the real standout track is “Die For Me” with Future and Halsey. The three artists display some impressive chemistry together, and Halsey’s verse is definitely a factor in me revisiting this track so often.
Even though these songs are all good, I can’t say they’re particularly adventurous, even by Post Malone’s standards. He hasn’t changed up his style since b&b and it starting to sound stale.
The closest thing to an experiment is the track “Take What You Want,” which features Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott. I was intrigued by the idea of two rap and metal titans coming together, but as it turns out, Ozzy’s sole contribution here is an unimpressive chorus. That’s it. Post and Travis don’t really contribute anything of value here either.
As for the rest of the album, it’s…there. These songs aren’t bad at all, they’re just inoffensive pop songs designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
Score: 🦴🦴🦴 / 5
Ben is a reviewer and CD collector currently studying Computer Science in NYC. In addition to contributing to Mini Music Critic he runs his own music page, BV Reviews.