American musician, Post Malone, is back with his fifth studio album, AUSTIN, technically a self-titled release. Austin Richard Post started out strong in the rap scene, garnering the attention of rappers like Kanye West, Mac Miller and Whiz Khalifa back in 2015. Since then, the musician has explored more and more of his artistry, with this release becoming arguably his most emotionally and vocally raw album – not to mention a monster release, at 17 tracks.

Though he is mostly known for his gnarly face tatts, insane street wear, and slick beats – Malone has brought a newfound indie-pop feel to AUSTIN. Opening track ‘Don’t Understand’ is an immediate gut punch of emotion, with the chorus ringing out, “I don't understand why you like me so much / 'Cause I don't like myself / I don't understand why you like me so much / Wish I was someone else.”

More of the original Post feel can be heard in ‘Something Real’, ultimately the most fantastically produced track of the album – also featuring a full choir, adding an incredible depth of harmonies to the piece. ‘Chemical’ comes next, released as a single back in April of this year, and having already garnered an impressive 178 million streams on Spotify alone. As one of the most underwhelming tracks on the album, it excites me to think what kind of streaming numbers we’ll see for the rest of these tracks.

‘Novacandy’ brings the album back down in tempo, with a catchy melody leading to a more upbeat chorus. Another single, ‘Mourning’, features incredible lyrics and a snappy half-rap, half-singing vibe. The amount of variation within the first five tracks sets a tempo which the entire album more than lives up to.

It's a fantastic shake-up to hear more vocally challenging tracks from Post Malone – long may it last.

Listen: ‘Something Real’
8/10

Out now