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It’s unfortunate when an album’s stand-out tracks are released as singles before the full-length project. Sadly, beerbongs & bentleys fits the mold—its standout tracks “rockstar” and “Psycho” essentially beat the album to the punch. It’s like when a movie trailer shows so much of a film, you already know the plot before hitting the theater. That’s not to say there isn’t any real “meat” within Post Malone’s sophomore album, but it’s sparse.
On another note, this project is too long. Standing tall at 18 tracks and running an expansive 64 minutes, Malone surely didn’t cut any of the album’s fat. This seems to be a trend recently (i.e. Culture II and MEMORIES DON’T DIE), forcing many albums to fall flat.
beerbongs & bentleys is a hodgepodge mix of typical flexing and fame-ridden hardships. Don’t expect cohesion when diving into this album—in fact, the tracks seem strung together in a random order. The album frequently switches moods, from the softer side of Malone’s love life to money bands and jewelry (ex. “Over Now” to “Psycho”).
Damn, my AP goin’ psycho, lil’ mama bad like Michael
Can’t really trust nobody with all this jewelry on you
My roof look like a no-show, got diamonds by the boatload
Come with the Tony Romo for clowns and all the bozos
Sure, there are a few quality tracks on beerbongs & bentleys. Some are surprisingly incredible. A prime example is “Stay,” a stripped-back acoustic track, and a logical follow-up to “Feeling Whitney” on Stoney. With complex chord and tempo changes, this is one of the 22-year-old artist’s best songs, his heart laid out for fans to relate to.
Stay a little longer if you convince me
And tell me all the things that you have against me
Every time we make-up, the truth is fadin’
Everybody’s blind when the view’s amazin’
“Rockstar” is an obvious banger, although it’s far too overplayed. Tracks like the incredibly-catchy “Better Now” and Nicki Minaj-assisted “Ball For Me” are two potential follow-ups to “rockstar,” with addictive hooks — a Post Malone staple. The latter is a stand out, creatively intertwining Minaj and Malone, forming a brilliant dynamic between the two. But it’s not enough to save the entire project.
Overall, I’m left looking for more in beerbongs & bentleys. As a fan of Stoney, I’m disappointed by the similarity between certain tracks on the new LP, and the lack of importance of others. The randomness of song variety is confusing at moments, although Malone genuinely attempts to pour his feelings out on individual tracks. Stoney is a hard follow-up for anyone, with the monstrous success of his freshman effort. Hopefully, when it comes time for his third project, he’ll learn from what worked and what didn’t, and sharpen his definite sound.
Stream beerbongs and bentleys here.
Under The Influence Of Music 