It’s been a few weeks since Californian singer, rapper, and guitarist Austin Post, professionally known as Post Malone released his full-length dive into the world of country, and I’ll admit, I’m late to the party. I was of course meant to try and write this first listen much sooner than I have managed to. Part of that is, of course, the hustle and bustle of life, but the other reason is sheer hesitation, you see, I’ve never really been country’s biggest lover. In fact, I’ve audibly announced my distaste for the genre a number of times to my friends whenever it’s come on while playing a joint playlist. My defiance in the face of the U.S South’s greatest export is going to be something of a problem, not to the review, but because I now must return to my friends with my tail between my legs, as it’s hard to do anything but adore this album.
I imagine it’s perhaps what Post was aiming for, to convert much of his rap and pop-based fanbase to the genre of good ol’ country, all while picking up an entirely new fanbase along the way. The album’s opener, ‘Wrong Ones’ embodies much of the album all within its 3 minute 15 second run time. The exuberant swagger and nonchalance Post featured in his previous albums is maintained, with memorable lyrics including “A lift kit on the limousine”, and “I got f*ck you money, c’mon now girl get you some“, you can be sure that Post’s new country twang won’t get in the way of his habit of flexing his wealth.
This carries on in the following track ‘Finer Things‘ with Post making sure to mention that “My Lambo and my ammo’s all camo green”. A ridiculous sentiment, and not something you would perhaps typically find muttered by prolific country singer Hank Williams Jr., but to hell with it, that’s exactly what this album is all about!
Speaking of features, this album is absolutely packed to the cowboy hat brim with features, Morgan Wallen leads a voice on the immensely catchy ‘I Had Some Help’, a song surely born to dominate radio air-waves for the foreseeable future, while Luke Combs features on both ‘Guy For That’ and ‘Missin’ You Like This’. However, the crowning jewel of all features on the album comes from the queen herself, Dolly Parton, with its twinkling piano keys, a shimmer of tambourine, and of course, that classic Tennessee twang.
From the heartfelt romance of ‘Have The Heart‘, to the touching ‘Never Love You Again’, the album makes excellent use of the genre’s beautiful instrumentation to help display a level of sincerity that we perhaps haven’t seen from Post previously, at least not at this slow of a canter. It makes for a well balanced album, even if the pace does find itself lacking towards the centre of the album. The pace is certainly changed with penultimate track “M-E-X-I-C-O”, a truly ridiculous runaway storyteller track that juxtaposes much of the rest of the album’s thematics, but not in a way that tarnishes the listen at all, thankfully.
Overall, Post’s venture in the genre has somehow made the genre bearable to me, and while it’s certainly a bit of a departure from his previous releases, especially his 2018 debut ‘Beerbongs and Bentleys’, other than the instrumentation, Post’s lyrical content remains wholly unaffected, and in doing so, he has inadvertently found the recipe for an incredible niche. Whether we get another full-length from Post in this style is yet to be seen, but I certainly wouldn’t complain if we did.
