Broken Whiskey Glass: Post starts off his album with some kind of Western standoff-styled song, and while it’s different, it’s also really boring. and while Post’s vocals are usually pretty good, the gigantic amount of filtering on his vocals make it really hard for me to enjoy them. Definitely not the best way to start the album.
Big Lie: While this song is nothing amazing, I do think it’s relatively fun, the hook is pretty great, and I like Post’s vocals on this track. I still feel like it’s one of those tracks that’s better as background music to space out to than as a legit banger, but it’s not a bad track overall.
Deja Vu (ft. Justin Bieber): I do like Post’s vocals a lot on this track, and his flow on the verses is really fun. I’m not really all that impressed with the hook on this track, and while Justin Bieber’s vocals are solid as always, I’m not as struck by his performance on this track as I am about some of his other performances. Still, another solid, “spacing out background music” kind of jam.
No Option: The fact that Post is essentially bragging about the fact that his album actually made it out after a delay is strange to me, but the track is still relatively fun and Post’s vocals are still really solid. Nothing I’ll listen to on repeat, but nothing too bad overall.
Cold: Even though I like the instrumental on this one, the hook is extremely boring and repetitive, and the verses aren’t any more memorable. Once again, the only fun I think you can have with this track is if you’re spacing out, and trust me, I tried that while listening to the song. I had more fun with it while spaced out than I did while actually giving it a critical analysis. That’s not a good thing.
White Iverson: One of Post’s biggest tracks, this song has continued to stay fun even after a ton of repeat listens. I love Post’s vocals through the track, his lyrical connections to famed basketball star Allen Iverson are clever, even as someone that knows very little about the sport, and the instrumental is rock solid. Definitely a great song, even after all this time.
I Fall Apart: Seeing as how this song is about a breakup, here’s an even better scenario: this song isn’t just for when you’re spacing out, it’s for when you just broke up with your significant other and then just got high. Honestly, I’ve never been high before, but I can only imagine this being the song playing. Slow, boring, but still featuring some solid vocals from Post. You’ll love it if you’re not paying attention to it.
Patient: Okay, this song definitely has a bit more energy than the last few, and it’s far less boring overall. Post’s performance is nice, his flow is really fun on the verses of this thing, and this is one of the few tracks so far that’s worth listening to, even if you’re not spacing out.
Go Flex: You know, I find it kind of clever that Post is making a song about flexing, but it’s light and rather acoustic. I had a lot of fun with it, though: I like the slower beat, the kind of brighter sound, and Post’s more raw vocals keep this track pretty exciting for me. One of the better on this album so far.
Feel (ft. Kehlani): I’m repeating myself to death, but I really like Post’s vocals on these tracks. Featured artist Kehlani’s performance isn’t amazing, but she has a solid voice and her flow on her verse is pretty fun. This is another track that’s better to listen to when you’re spaced out, but it’s better than some of the other “space-out” jams on this album.
Too Young: Even with some solid vocals, the hook on this track is really repetitive, and I feel like, vocally, he was trying a bit too hard to cash in on the success of “White Iverson” with this one. His verses are still pretty fun, though, and they keep this track from falling into the pits. It’s not a great track at all, but you can do worse than this one.
Congratulations (ft. Quavo): This track features another pretty strong performance from Post, who has a lot of fun on his verse, and his hook is also admittedly pretty catchy. Quavo’s performance is not as strong as Post’s, but it’s not too bad overall. While I’m starting to tire a bit of the songs talking about the success he got from one single, this is a track that grew on me a bit with some repeat listens, and I actually enjoy it quite a bit.
Up There: This track is one of the album’s most easy-going songs, and it’s relatively fun and groovy overall. It does feel like another “listen when you’re spaced out” kind of song (especially when you consider the lyrics), but of all the “space out jams,” this is one of the better ones.
Yours Truly, Austin Post: Post ends off the non-Deluxe edition of the album with ANOTHER track talking about his success, and this is where it starts to feel really contrived. And I don’t find his vocals on this track to be as memorable as some of his other songs. It’s not one of the album’s worst, but as the finisher to the non-Deluxe album, it could’ve been better.
Leave: Another song with some more country vibes, this perfectly exemplifies the “spacing-out” thing I was talking about with Post. Even if he brings yet another solid vocal performance on the song, the mere fact that he is talking about heartbreak again just makes it feel bland. However, the song is paced well enough that this feels like good background music for when you’re zoned out, or for the opening credits of a western film. Outside of that, though, I can’t really recommend listening to it in any way, because it’s just too bland and too long for its own good.
Hit This Hard: Oh, this was a track? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. The track was minimal enough that, even when I did zone out, I forgot anything was even playing. But when I did actually listen to it, it was another really boring track with a weaker vocal performance from Post than many of the other songs. When a Post Malone song fails to even be successful as “spaced out background music,” there’s something wrong here.
Money Made Me Do It (ft. 2 Chainz): A pretty bright song with another really nice vocal performance from Post, despite having a kind of forgettable performance from featured artist 2 Chainz. Even so, this song feels like a small tribute to Atlanta rapper Bankroll Fresh, and it’s actually a pretty sweet song overall, even if it’s not one of the album’s best.
Feeling Whitney: Post ends off the album with a song that feels so out of whack but so fitting at the same time: it’s Post singing along to an extremely light acoustic guitar, and that’s about it. It’s easily the most minimal track on this thing, and while it feels so at odds with the rest of the album, it also feels so genuinely Post. It also has some pretty dark lyrics about Post believing he is “the man” even though he is in a difficult battle with drug addiction. It’s extremely raw, but there’s still quite a bit of passion on the track, and Post’s solid vocals kind of remind me of Jack Johnson. It’s a really strong end to the album, and I think it begs for some repeat listens.
Overall, though, I was generally pretty indifferent towards this album. Even though Post does a lot of interesting things vocally, a lot of the songs just feel too boring, and it feels like the album as a whole is a lot better if you zone out and don’t really listen to the lyrics or anything like that. If you treat the record as something you can critically analyze, you’re gonna have a rough time with it. However, if you treat the album as mere background noise (which isn’t as practical for a review, but go with it), it’s plenty of fun. I think that’s the first time I can say that an album is more fun to listen to if you’re not paying attention. Don’t get me wrong, there are some pretty fun tracks on this record, but all in all, it’s an underwhelming debut that, no matter how much it brags about the success of “White Iverson,” doesn’t do enough to capitalize on that track’s popularity.
I hope “Beerbongs & Bentleys” is better.
Favorite tracks: White Iverson, Patient, Go Flex, Congratulations*, Feeling Whitney
Least favorite tracks: Broken Whiskey Glass, Cold, Leave, Hit This Hard
Rating: Okay
(*An asterisk next to a “favorite track” indicates that the track wasn’t initially one of my “favorite tracks” when I first wrote the review. If a track has an asterisk next to it, it means the song wasn’t initially a favorite of mine, but it grew on me, and the text for the song may have been edited to more properly reflect that.)
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