New Album Review: Post Malone- Austin

Post Malone- Austin

Label: Republic

Producers: Post Malone, Andrew Watt, Louis Bell, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub

The fifth LP from superstar Post Malone arrives quickly on the heels of last year’s Twelve Carat Toothache, and in the aftermath of the birth of his first child and subsequent engagement to his daughter’s mother. Given those life events, it should certainly come as no surprise that Austin, a record carrying the namesake given him at birth, continues down the more reflective and introspective musings that popped up on Toothache. It also pushes Malone’s sound further from his core Hip Hop roots toward a more stripped, guitar-based (Malone plays lead on every track) folk-pop sound. There are very few trap beats to be found throughout Austin, and not a single one of the featured collaborations that have been a cornerstone of his previous records. Conversely, the tracks here don’t find the star abandoning his well-documented vices of sex, booze, and fast cars. No, those themes still heavily populate this seventeen-track list. But they’re certainly examined through a more mature and reflective lens, a tone that is perfectly complimented by the more rootsy trappings. While there are still your infectiously addicting jams like the Weeknd-esque “Too Cool to Die” or “Sign Me Up”, the centerpieces are bare-boned confessionals like opener “Don’t Understand”, the harmonic gospel-tinged “Something Real”, or the near orchestral “Hold My Breath”. His voice trembles in such emotive fashion throughout these cuts, illustrating how deeply the exploration he’s enacting truly cuts. That guttural power hits its true peak on the album’s pair of gripping closers, “Green Thumb” and “Laugh It Off”. Austin proves to be a truly captivating evolution in the artistic arc of Post Malone’s career thus far. His swift stylistic pivot will surely make it his most divisive record to date. But also his most accessible. And perhaps his very best.

Track Listing:

1. “Don’t Understand” (Post Malone, Louis Bell, Andrew Watt)
2. “Something Real” (Post, Bell, Watt, Billy Walsh)
3. “Chemical” (Post, Bell, Watt, Walsh)
4. “Novacandy” (Post, Bell, Watt, Walsh)
5. “Mourning” (Post, Bell, Watt)
6. “Too Cool To Die” (Post, Bell, Watt, Walsh)
7. “Sign Me Up” (Post, Bell, Walsh, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub)
8. “Socialite” (Post, Bell, Watt, Walsh)
9. “Overdrive” (Post, Bell, Watt, Walsh)
10. “Speedometer” (Post, Bell, Watt)
11. “Hold My Breath” (Post, Bell, Walsh)
12. “Enough Is Enough” (Post, Bell, Walsh, Martin, Yacoub)
13. “Texas Tea” (Post, Bell, Walsh, Yacoub)
14. “Buyer Beware” (Post, Bell, Watt)
15. “Landmine” (Post, Bell, Watt)
16. “Green Thumb” (Post, Bell, Watt)
17. “Laugh It Off” (Post, Bell, Watt)