Hollywood’s Bleeding Review: Post Malone Offers His Leanest, Most Polished Album to Date

Hollywood’s Bleeding Shows Malone Still Has Plenty Left in the Tank

Fresh off of 2018’s chart-topping, stream-shattering Beerbongs & Bentleys, Post Malone is back with his third studio album, Hollywood’s Bleeding. A 51-minute production featuring 17 tracks of husky vocals and genre-defying instrumentation, Hollywood’s Bleeding is just the latest entry in what has become an unmistakable body of work for the 24-year-old entertainer.

As has become customary with Malone’s patented “don’t give a rat’s ass” attitude, the album released at the oddest possible time — yesterday evening — with little to no warning. I’d have it no other way.

Featuring big-name artists ranging from Future to Ozzy Osbourne, Hollywood’s Bleeding packs enough star power to ensure it dominates charts and personal listening devices for the foreseeable future. Yet despite the appeal of today’s superstars collaborating on this fall’s radio anthems, it is surprisingly Malone’s solo efforts that carry the most mileage. Unafraid of breaking from convention, Malone flirts with about every genre under the sun, and does so with confidence. There’s something here for everyone: candy pop, hip-hop bangers, punk rock, classic rock, alternative ballads… even soul, for good measure. Couple this with the album’s rich melodies and relatively lean run-time, and Hollywood’s Bleeding is an ambitious effort that effortlessly showcases the best of Malone’s talents.

It’s Hollywood’s Bleeding’s opening, titular track that perhaps best encapsulates the album’s strengths. At first, the track’s soft humming and gentle guitar backing evoke something closer to 3 Doors Down than traditional hip-hop; Malone begins singing a somber verse about vampires, darkness, and a broken relationship. All of a sudden, the track changes: The tempo doubles, a high hat kicks in, and Malone belts a few juicy phrases. The song becomes a pleasing mashup of trap and rock. Then, at the track’s tail-end, Malone pulls another audible: The song slows to a halt, the high hat is replaced by a heavy bass drum, and Malone finishes the ballad with a thunderous, rockin’ outro.

Three distinct phrases, from punk-alternative, to hip-hop/rock, to full-on rock. All in 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

You can look for yourself; the tracklist is full of these shorter, explosive songs. Of all 17 tracks, only one — “Die For Me,” featuring Future and Halsey — ends up being longer than 4 minutes, and it’s unsurprisingly the worst of the bunch. Whereas Stoney and Beerbongs & Bentleys each clocked in at a little over an hour, Hollywood’s Bleeding’s lean 51 minutes avoids much of the bloat that bogged down Malone’s previous albums. And while music that is too short certainly runs the risk of feeling underdeveloped (Lil Nas X and the late XXXTentacion are two particularly salient examples), Hollywood’s Bleeding walks a careful line between brevity and over-saturation, and comes out on top.

Other standouts include “Circles,” a mellow, acoustic jam reminiscent of 2018’s heart-wrenching “Stay”; “I’m Gonna Be,” a feel-good track with slick syncopation and delicious harmonies; and “Allergic,” a playful tune that switches between a smooth, Beach Boys-like melody and a heavier rock chorus. Of course, there are also the tried-and-true Malone hits: “Sunflower,” popularized in part thanks to the animated film Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse; “Wow,” which released Christmas Eve of last year; and the recent “Goodbyes,” featuring Young Thug.

Rounding out the album is a series of new features. While not as impactful as some of Malone’s solo efforts, most of these serve their purpose as addicting, club-friendly hits. “On The Road” gathers Malone, Meek Mill, and Lil Baby together for a fast-paced thriller that borrows melodic motifs from previous smash-hit “Rockstar” to great effect. “Staring At The Sun,” which features SZA, is a crooning duet with warm harmonies and an uplifting beat. “Enemies” is a similarly playful ditty, powered by a bouncy melody from Malone and lively verse from rapper DaBaby.

If there’s one feature that breaks the mold, it would be “Take What You Want.” The song enlists the help of Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott for one heck of a rock-a-thon, complete with moody lyrics, emotional vocals, and a shredding guitar solo to close. If anything, the track goes to reinforce what we already know about Post Malone: that he cannot simply be boxed into any one category when it comes to his music (or his dress, for that matter).

That’s ultimately the appeal of Hollywood’s Bleeding. It’s a brisk whirlwind of genres that showcases both Post Malone’s talented vocal prowess and his ability to mash together musical motifs that have no business being on the same album, let alone the same track. It doesn’t offer insightful lyrics, nor does it coalesce to create a particularly captivating story when listened to from beginning to end. It’s simply fun, for music’s sake.

For some, that might not cut it. For millions, though, it certainly will.

Score: 8.7/10