Post Malone- F-1 Trillion
Label: Republic
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins
The arrival of Post Malone’s sixth studio set, his long-promised and highly-anticipated foray into contemporary country music, marks not just a singular summer blockbuster release for both the country and pop worlds, but also a continuation of the remarkable run for the country genre at the heights of pop-culture awareness. It’s a trend that seems to occur on this level every generation or so, but this latest event has taken on a fascinatingly diverse scope in this less fragmented era of music consumption, with mainstream heavyweights like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, Americana mavericks like Zach Bryan, and left-of-center surprises like Shaboozey playing equally pivotal roles in the crossover success. Further emphasizing the reach of the moment have been marquee pop-to-country experiments like this Malone release and Beyonce’s spring opus, Cowboy Carter (which Malone also appeared on). But while Bey’s release ultimately proved to be more of an expansive cultural statement rather than a full-fledged country pivot, F-1 Trillion is very much a measured and intentional navigation into 2024’s Nashville scene. What this means is that it lacks the remarkably unique artistic swings or more obscure guest spots that Cowboy Carter offered. Instead, we have Posty assembling an army of straight-forward duets, the majority of which were crafted with expected Music City composers and featuring a familiar crowd of the mainstream’s most expected hitmakers and legacy acts. This also means that this record is destined to become the chart-dominant hit-machine that Carter hasn’t been in the long run. And, you know what? It’s perfectly fine, and actually quite rewarding, to have both. Malone’s love for the genre is clearly evident throughout these performances, as are his efforts to ingratiate himself and adapt to its creative aesthetic. The undeniable summer classic that he and Wallen delivered with lead single, “I Had Some Help” proves to be the most pop-leaning moment, with the rest of the project settling in sonically to an authentic country sound. There are obvious echoes of 90s country and a balance between the polished but twangy inflections of what a country hit sounded like both pre- and post-bro country. There are not any signs of rap or Hip-Hop interloping that many would have begrudgingly expected had a Post Malone country record been a thing five-to-seven years ago, especially when acts like Florida Georgia Line were still at the top of the charts. He fully commits himself to being a straight-forward contemporary country singer, and overall, he pulls it off refreshingly well. As is customary with such a loaded roster of collaborations, there are those that work far better than others. For my money, the most satisfying (outside of the irresistible contagion of “I Had Some Help”) prove to be the duets with Ernest, Lainey Wilson, Tim McGraw, Hank Williams Jr., Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, and especially the more traditional-leaning pair with roots darlings Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings. More moments in this vein would have certainly been welcome; as Malone actually proves to be an even better neo-trad crooner than a country-pop entertainer. His solo moments, particularly “Yours”, with its classic country fatherhood theme, also prove to impress as well. The absences of acts like Dwight Yoakam and Sturgill Simpson–who were both central figures to Malone’s initial online country dabbling–is definitely a disappointment. With that said, none of this flat-out bombs, though the Dolly Parton track, “Have the Heart” is sadly the weakest link, with Posty’s divisive “is it Auto-Tune or falsetto” quivering doing neither vocalist any favors there. Nevertheless, F-1 Trillion ultimately reigns supreme within its decidedly mainstream zone, proving itself as a durably entertaining, fun, and infectious batch of performances. There’s a sizable arsenal of potential hits waiting in the wings here that seem to just scratch the surface of what Malone could tap into within the deep well of country and Americana music. This may just be the first sampling of what the superstar could produce with continued navigations into the roots music world.
Track Listing:
- “Wrong Ones” featuring Tim McGraw (Post Malone, Luke Combs, Ernest, Louis Bell, Ryan Vojtesak, Keith Smith, James McNair)
- “Finer Things” featuring Hank Williams Jr. (Malone, Bell, Vojtesak, Combs, Smith, McNair, Josh Thompson)
- “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen (Malone, Wallen, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Jonathan Hoskins, Ashley Gorley, Chandler Walters)
- “Pour Me A Drink” featuring Blake Shelton (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, John Byron, Rocky Block, Jordan Dozzi)
- “Have the Heart” featuring Dolly Parton (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Lainey Wilson, Brad Paisley, Gorley)
- “What Don’t Belong to Me” (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Gorley, James Maddocks)
- “Goes Without Saying” featuring Brad Paisley (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Gorley, Thompson, Chase McGill, Joe Reeves)
- “Guy For That” featuring Luke Combs (Post, Combs, Bell, Vojtesak, Hoskins, Smith, McNair)
- “Nosedive” featuring Lainey Wilson (Post, Combs, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, McNair, Billy Walsh)
- “Losers” featuring Jelly Roll (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Gorley, Walters, Reeves)
- “Devil I’ve Been” featuring Ernest (Post, Smith, Bell, Vojtesak, Hoskins, Walters)
- “Never Love You Again” featuring Sierra Ferrell (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Chris Tompkins, Rhett Akins)
- “Missin’ You Like This” featuring Luke Combs (Post, Combs, Bell, Vojtesak, Hardy, Gorley, McNair)
- “California Sober” featuring Chris Stapleton (Post, Chris Stapleton, Bell, Vojtesak, Mark Holman)
- “Hide My Gun” featuring Hardy (Post, Hardy, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Walsh, Alexander Izguierdo)
- “Right About You” (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Walters)
- “M-E-X-I-C-O” featuring Billy Strings (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, McGill)
- “Yours” (Post, Bell, Vojtesak, Gorley, Taylor Philips)
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