[REVIEW] “Beerbongs & Bentleys” — Post Malone Continues to Break Genre Rules.
Cowboy Yeezus just dropped an album that’s gonna be on radio till the end of Summer 2020. It’s difficult to pinpoint Post’s genre because he has intentionally made his music permeable. The iTunes description for Post goes:
He’s been labelled a hip-hop artist, but as the song says, Post Malone is a rockstar too
Hip Hop heads don’t consider Post as a rapper since his music is more of a combination of folk + R&B + pop rap. But it’s okay Posty I accept you for who you are.
This album is definitely more pop influenced and slowly steers away from Post Malone’s signature sound. It’s the type of sound that ascends us into a state coined Malonecholy. Unfortunately there are less songs in this album that make us listeners achieve this state.
What is MALONEcholy?
Malonecholy is a state of simultaneous euphoria and sadness. The echoed vocals and the beat interwine into a wavy melody incorporating an ambient synth pad, that mixes both chorus and reverb, to a lush and deep sound. Imagine if a song would have a music video in slow motion, that’s the type of song that makes us reach Malonecholy. The bars are also short since the singing elongates syllables. Here’s the difference of short bars vs long:
Malonecholy vs Non-Malonecholy Tracks
Post’s previous album Stoney has 12 malonecholy songs. Beerbongs & Bentleys has only 5. This is only bad if you expected Post to continue his musical style from Stoney. This time around Post engineers faster beats, sings more words/bar, and experiments less. Here’s the rundown of the track listing.
Paranoid
Certified Malonecholy Track. The vocals are very dynamic starting low and slowly building up. I love how it fluctuates with the beat.
Spoil my night
I ain’t even seen her face but she got beautiful boobies
Bar of the year? The choice of word “boobies,” instead of a more common phrase such as “boobs” or “titties,” is what makes this such a perfect bar.
Rich & Sad
Certified Malonecholy Track. You can really feel this beat and hear the strong emotion vocals. Post is experimenting his voice well. This sounds like a summer hit.
Zack and Codeine
I am thoroughly disappointed that Post didn’t feature Mr. Moseby on this track.
Takin shots
Beginning sounds like Congratulations. This is a minimal song with a distorted beat, but really it’s the “PRRRRRRRRAAAA” that makes this song beautiful.
Rockstar
Certified Malonecholy Track.
Over now
This song is the I Fall Apart of this album. That build up to the beat drop is gorgeous. The switch to a rock chorus is well timed. Tommy Lee kills it on the drums. This song goes hard and Post authentically sounds angry. This may be one of top songs Post has ever made.
Psycho
Certified Malonecholy Track. I refused to hear this song until he album dropped. I’m glad I did this because this song is chill AF.
Better Now
This song is going to blow up. The chorus is very catchy and I can see it playing on the radio this summer. It’s a different pace from Malone, a little faster, and he did a good job with it. I’m glad he didn’t keep depending on his old formula.
Ball For Me
I can’t trust Nicki’s features ever since she did The Way Life Goes remix. However this time around Nicki is best part of the song.
Otherside
Everybody dies alone
The chorus is addicting and uses autotune very well. This song is a hidden gem and may as well be a sleeper hit.
Stay
Don’t break your back for me I’ll put you out of your misery
Certified Malonecholy Track. This song shows us just how versatile Post can get. It’s a good switch up for the album. We need more of acoustic Post. This one is my personal favorite and it’s a beautiful song.
Same Bitches
who’s your daddy? is he rich like me?
Confirmed Banger. This beat is cheddar. G-Eazy reminds me, yet again, that he has no trouble stealing my girlfriend.
92 Explorer
This is the song you will scream on the top of your lungs 2am at the club drunk AF.
4/5 A couple of the songs don’t have the replay value that Stoney does. I would say there are more forgettable songs on this album. They aren’t bad, just a bit generic for me to care about. Overall the album feels safe, which is a good thing since Post seems to have settled into a style. There is also a healthy amount of experimentation in tracks like Stay and Over Now, which are so good I wouldn’t be mad if Post released just those types of songs. Some people might complain the 18 tracks are too much, but I think it’s enough for today’s standards where music streaming is much more popular.
