F-1 Trillion by Post Malone | Album Review
Post Malone’s 6th Studio Album Might Be His Most Different, And The Most Expressive Yet.
LISTEN TO F-1 Trillion: APPLE MUSIC | SPOTIFY
I have been a huge Post Malone follower since I heard “White Iverson” for the 1st time. With such an immaculate combination of singing and the influence of trap production, I have fallen in love with Post Malone’s debut record Stoney.
With his sophomore album beerbongs & bentleys, Post showcased his talents in rapping, presenting us with a classic and the most streamed rap song of the digital age — “rockstar”. The latter album was more hip-hop-directed, allowing Post to truly shine in his rapping abilities.
In 2019, a year ago after his sophomore, Malone delivered Hollywood’s Bleeding, which was undoubtedly the peak of his career, and deservingly so.
On Hollywood’s Bleeding, you got a solid combination of pop-rap, with alternative sub-genres of pop, and rock that showed you the range of Post Malone’s abilities, but it was not all this great till 2022.
In 2022, the artist released his 4th studio album Twelve Carat Toothache, on which he sounded like a parody of himself. What was expected to be the personal record where Malone expressed his struggles and challenges turned out to be a huge letdown.
Followed up by the artist’s 5th studio album AUSTIN, Post could finally express his emotions and feelings, making the lyrical essence of that record one of the best things we have heard from him.
Now, after a slight recap of his discography and my overall attitude to Post, I can clearly say that F-1 Trillion is not the record that Malone did for the fans or listeners, but the one he did for himself.
In May 2015, Posty shared a tweet where he said: “WHEN I TURN 30 IM BECOMING A COUNTRY/FOLK SINGER”, with Malone pushing 30, we have finally entered his new era of being a country artist & singer and on the surface, he is happy about it.
On F-1 Trillion, you get a different side of Post Malone that you have never truly heard, but always knew it was in him. The first time I heard Malone on the country-inspired track was “LEVI’S JEANS” on this year’s Beyoncè’s COWBOY CARTER, which sounded extremely refreshing with Post’s accompaniment.
Truthfully, I believe this is an extremely curious direction for an artist at this point in his career. Investing his talent in the direction that has a place in his heart seems like an incredibly reasonable choice, considering he is not the same artist you heard in his sophomore and Hollywood’s Bleeding. Although receiving an F-1 Trillion as a consequence of this choice is amusing, yet incredibly monotonous.
Since the start of the record, you are introduced to the most frequent structure of the song on the record, where the first thing that you hear is Post Malone, and then a feature artist.
The album is clearly over-saturated with country artists and their presence on those tracks. It looks like Post was hoping that he could do his own thing, and then the country-based artist would simply help him get a pass into the country community.
Rarely does the chemistry between him and the artist work with examples of Tim McGraw on “Wrong Ones” or “Pour Me A Drink” with Blake Shelton, but mostly it sounds like the same recycled song.
Don’t get me wrong, this album certainly delivers a great and solid performance on the side of country albums. It has a solid production, great vocal performances, and certainly has a few diamonds within it, but there is no Wow factor in here. Throughout the record, I felt like I just turned on the radio station of the country album that offers you some dynamic, some personal, and some melancholic songs.
Post doesn’t reinvent the wheel. He knows the formula and uses it comfortably.
It is a great example of the record that just exists. It doesn’t have any motive regarding why Post wanted to make this type of record; it is just there. Regardless, I see this as a big step within the Post’s career that shows ambition and joy.
I quite like Malone’s performances on this record. You get this rough American accent with a charismatic and playful tone that both work greatly with careless instrumental throughout.
One of the biggest down factors for me is the duration of the album. I think the 18-track with a 58-minute runtime is a bit too much for a new experimental direction that Malone is giving to the public. Even if the track sounds well-produced, or has a nice instrumental, it still may get you to the point of boredom because of how overstretched it feels.
Additionally, I wish Post had explored his solo side more on the album, as a track like “What Don’t Belong To Me,” featuring his solo performance, is arguably the best.
To sum everything up, I would not call this a bad album, or a good album. It simply has no emotions for me. It does everything you expect from a country with a perfectly polished formula that gives you a lackluster and ordinary country project. However, I still feel that Malone currently has more potential in this direction than in his previous pop-rap endeavors.
I have a great feeling about where this may lead, so as a sign of hope, I give this album a solid 5.5 out of 10
FINAL RATING: 5.5/10 ( MEDIOCRE )
FAVORITE TRACKS: “What Don’t Belong To Me”, “Wrong Ones”
LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS: “Missin’ You Like This”, “California Sober”
Scores guideline:
0–2 (dramatically bad)
2.1–4.5 (bad)
4.6–6 (mediocre/mid)
6.1–6.9 (Ok)
7–7.5 (good)
7.6–8.6 (great)
8.7–9.9 (amazing)
10 (perfect)
