By Jill Grinnell

Post Malone released his third studio album Hollywood’s Bleeding, including 17 energetic yet melancholic tracks, some featuring artists like Ozzy Osborne, SZA, and Meek Mill.

At first, I was hesitant to listen to Hollywood’s Bleeding, as I was expecting to be unimpressed based on Post Malone’s recent radio singles, and even his last album beerbongs & bentleys. 

Surprisingly, the album left me speechless in the best way possible. It’s hard to categorize Malone’s music into a certain genre, as he doesn’t fit the mold of a stereotypical pop and rap artist. Moreover, the tracks include elements that combine pop, electronic, rock, and rap together to create a musical masterpiece.

Although some of the songs have verses that are lyrically lazy and repetitive with explicit lyrics revolving around drugs, alcohol, and sex, Malone almost never fails to create mesmerizing hooks and award-winning choruses. I could listen to Posty sing  “It’s what it is, it’s how I live /All the places I’ve been / I wish I could’ve been there myself” on the chorus of “Myself” and never get tired of it.

The best songs on the album are the ones that sound similar to Malone’s earlier music, like on his first album Stoney, which is also his best album. Songs like “Internet” and “Staring at the Sun (feat. SZA)” remind me of 2016 era Post as he was just beginning his rise to fame before he became another mainstream artist. 

My favorite song on the album is “Circles,” a ballad about a relationship caught in a toxic cycle that won’t seem to break. Post cries out that he feels it’s “time to let go I say so / I knew that this was doomed from the get-go.” 

Overall, Hollywood’s Bleeding evidences Post Malone’s creativity and talent through his variety of beats and sounds of the album.