With such a mix of party and relationship songs for singles, I had an initial worry that Hollywood’s Bleeding was basically going to be B&B part 2. But now after listening to the full album I can safely say it’s not. However, it’s a little worse off because of it.

Since breaking onto the scene with his big hit of White Iverson back in 2015, Post Malone has easily become one of the most popular rapper/pop star/whatever-you-want-to-call-him of the past couple years. Post has been on a huge streak. Now, I was not a fan of Stoney at all, but B&B was a great project and easily the turning point for Post. Whether it was lowkey bangers like Rockstar and Psycho, or some powerful ballads like Paranoid or Better Now, it showed a lot more vocal diversity from him.

The first true single that actually feels like it fits in here is Goodbyes with Young Thug. With a powerful and catchy chorus, a message is delivered about heartbreak, which Post excels at. The song is also a Young Thug feature where Thugger goes way harder than he ever really needed to. The last single before the album released was the song Circles, which continued with Goodbyes in having a theme around relationship issues.

The title track (Hollywood’s Bleeding) is a perfect representation of how this album is. The beginning of the track is this moody ballad but then the beat goes into a trap breakdown for the verse. It’s a totally unexpected shift and a great start to the project with the only complaint is that I wish the track would’ve ended on the breakdown instead of transitioning back to the original beat at the end.

Unfortunately, after that huge spectacle, the album had a dip in energy because of Saint-Tropez. This is an example of Post by the numbers. With a flat chorus and some bland bragging, It’s like Rockstar if you took out all the chilling and unsettling aspects. Thankfully, the album has a great string of tracks after that, such as Enemies with DaBaby, which is easily one of the catchiest choruses on the album and a very bouncy and fun beat on here.

Easily the most peculiar song on the album but also easily the best song on the album is the very grand chorus from Ozzy Osbourne. Post has easily his best verse on the album through telling someone they’re a snake in a very clever way. Travis Scott towards the end is a nice touch, but nothing compared to the guitar shredding at the end.

Overall, I did enjoy this album, and its artistic freedom showed with the rock-inspired cuts and features. However, it feels a little bloated for what it wants to do, plus the last leg of the album is saved only by the singles. Hollywood’s Bleeding is easily better than Stoney but is slightly worse than Beerbongs & Bentleys.