Review Summary: Suffering from Success?
“I kept my eyes closed, it was easy, now I see it with perfect vision/And everything done for the dead after they're dead, is for the living”
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Throughout the late 2010s, the Texan hip-hop-rocker Post Malone has certainly acquired a
reputation for his mastering of the art of the trap-banger hit single on his last three multi-platinum records, and his ability to seemingly manifest them out of nowhere; frankly, he is an unstoppable force in the hip/pop world with what he has done. But in 2022, three years after his last album, it appears that Posty has hit a career crossroad with his success; does he continue making trap-bangers until people are tired of the sound and he fizzles out unceremoniously, or does he decide to break his mold and do something different? And furthermore, how long can he hold up an image of himself and his supposed amazing lifestyle? Well, if there’s one takeaway from his fourth album
Twelve Carat Toothache, it is that he has chosen the latter of these choices. And thus, we are presented with a different slice of Post Malone’s life that hasn’t been heard before- the cost of his success.
Despite what you’d anticipate from an album based around “suffering from success”, for the most part Post Malone avoids falling into the typical lyrical cliches of “f—k the fame/f—k the game”* or “I’m rich but life sucks”, and instead describes his world(view) with a newfound sense of morbidity, morality and introspectiveness.
Twelve Carat Toothache is rather stripped back and, dare I say, quite
exposed when compared to his previous albums. I don’t mean it's like
The Secret Life of Zack and Cody(ne); what I mean there is little (but enough) musically to detract from Post Malone that you pay attention to every confession, doubt and word he says. While having a large focus on vocals can be burdensome and risky, Posty’s vocals and lyrics on
Twelve Carat Toothache are easily what gives the album its character; Post shows signs of growth and maturity as a lyricist and (for the most part) does not rely on ad-libs or hooks about his flex-lifestyle; rather he embodies himself as a humble but broken man, successfully distinguishing the line between asking for pity and crying for help. Not once does Post bemoan or ask for your (the listener’s) sympathy; as stated on the piano-based opener, “Reputation”, which sets the mood for the record, he knows what people think he is, and regrets it;
“I was born to raise hell, I was born to take pills
I was born to chase mills, I was born to cave in
I was born to f—k hoes, I was born to f—k up
I was born, what a shame”
These bars do seem like Post Malone lyrics on the surface, don’t they? But now, Post appears to realise how meaningless and rather hollow his life is
between the bars (sic). While the album’s lyrical subjects (such as depression, suicide, alcoholism and broken hearts) are unusually/exceptionally bleak for Post Malone, they are largely void of the angst and/or cliches. Even when they are a bit cringey, they are (somewhat) minimised by Post’s secret weapon on the album; his delivery. Whereas Posty was rather vocally monotonous on some his earlier work (with some improvements being made on
Hollywood’s Bleeding), here, he pushes his vocals quite often and adjusts his styles from singing to crying to wallows to his “normal” attitude, all to suit the mood he is in. This is best shown in the two-song suite of “I Like You (a Happier Song)” featuring Doja Cat and “I Cannot Be (a Sadder Song) featuring Gunna. In “I Like You”, Post presents his success in a rather naive fashion while he (modestly) serenades Doja, with both of them dueting/fantasising about their long-term futures together; and then, in the R&B-esque “I Cannot Be (a Sadder Song), he later laments how their relationship is too restrictive and it no longer works as “You're the reason why I get so high”. This is a masterclass of execution in chronicling a relationship from Post Malone, and combined creates a completely different mood of the two songs together than if they were separate. Other lyrical/atmospheric highlights are “Euthanasia”, which uses triple entendre to smartly convey his pain and how it cedes when he performs live or drinks alcohol, and the almost church-like “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol” (complete with choir vocals from Fleet Foxes), which showcases Post genuinely sounding like he’s at his knees to the influence of alcohol. However, Post’s atmospherics and vocal styles aren’t always a hit, such as his attempt at crooning on the country-esque “Lemon Tree” come off as very awkward (aka “and grOw mE soMeThinn bEtRRr”), and “Insane” which has the weirdest pronunciation of the world “skOrt” I’ve ever heard in my life.
Obviously, as it takes two to tango, Post's newfound vocal styles bring along new musical styles too. In terms of instrumentation,
Twelve Carat Toothache largely departs from trap music and sees Post tapping more with synth-pop, and its upbeat nature is a good accompaniment to the depressing lyrics; combining upbeat melodies with sad lyrics has been one of Post Malone’s strengths from day dot one, and here they work even better. Further showing growth is with Posty’s rock-esque side, and the album features the increased use of live instrumentation, most prominently the piano (on “Reputation” and “Waiting For A Miracle”). On songs such as “When I’m Gone” he creates an almost pseudo-pop punk sound with bass and drums. And even with the more “regular” stuff on the album, such as “Insane”, the subtleties in the production (in this case a different drum sound) give even the less good songs (Insane being one of them) a somewhat unique character (not that it has to be extravagant, however). The production helps with the emotional delivery of several of the songs, primarily in “Reputation”, “Euthanasia” and “Waiting for a Miracle”.
However, despite what I’ve praised with the album, there’s too many issues that stop
Twelve Carat Toothache from moving from just “Good” to “great”. The main problem is the production. While it benefits him in some songs, in others it can at times feel underwhelming and a little too empty. Collateral damage is caused by the overuse of reverb and echo on the vocals, which can be a bit disorienting and drowns a large amount of the production’s subtleties. This is disappointing for Post, who time and time again has shown his capabilities/abilities as a vocalist live, and on the album’s brief final song, “New Recording 12, Jan 3, 2020” (likely a demo of “Euthanasia”). The aforementioned song brings me onto the album’s greatest crux; it’s what can best be described as “poor time management”, where songs are too short or too long. There is too much space and some songs like “Wasting Angels (feat. Kid LAROI)” are nothing more than boring atmospheric filler, and despite how epic sounding “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol” is, it is too brief as one minute of the three minute song is a build up. Large amounts of the album feel like drinking raw egg**; it’s still edible and won’t harm you, but it’s largely unpleasant when not mixed with something else properly; in this case, Post Malone’s egg smoothies either have too little fruit (good parts) or too much egg white (filler), and overall while some combinations work there are quite a few that aren’t nice to have. And to add some insult to that injury,
Twelve Carat Toothache quite possibly contains some of Post Malone’s worst features ever; especially Roddy Rich on “Cooped Up”, who is unable to keep up with the music and it’s honestly grinding to listen to his bars, as are Gunna’s bars on “I Cannot Be”, which are either too whispery or too deep (and a bit like Red Birb***; you’ll understand). There are definitely some good combinations on the album, notably The Weeknd on “One Right Now”, which is the most cohesive of Post’s album, and Doja Cat on “I Like You” is a perfect fit for the song, but honestly the lacklustre features on the album harm the flow of the album, and you will likely feel like skipping them. And for a 43 minute album, that’s not a good thing.
To conclude this review,
Twelve Carat Toothache is an interesting experiment from Post Malone that sees him branch beyond what he usually does, with a few critical issues which damage its otherwise promising potential; ultimately, the flaws have wide effects in terms of the album’s replay value and is likely to alienate older fans of Post Malone. Even so, I find it hard to dislike or hate this album, and overall hits more than it misses, though this is a fine line. I’m satisfied knowing that Post Malone is showing positive signs of growth and maturity and being able to portray emotion in a more genuine way than he has before. Even if he isn’t at his apex, the album ultimately shows Post Malone edging closer to becoming his own separate niche. If he wanted some sort of credibility from this album, he’s got it. Atta boy!
3/5
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Listen to the album here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nbwsuAyhYaQzrh0l6zp3orMnW5Ct _nYmc
* stolen from DJ Khaled
** pasteurized, obviously lmao
*** https://youtu.be/ewf-8rx9_uQ
