Post Malone: the story of the tatted troubadour in 10 songs

On his first album ‘Stoney’, Post Malone showed us exactly who he is – a genre-hopping, experimental, ambitious force. While that record was rooted in hip-hop, it bounced from Latin beats to jazzy piano melodies, whirring electronics to acoustic folk colourings, showcasing the full 360-degrees of the then-rising star’s influences.

In the years since, his records might have become more cohesive – as if he’s pulling from the same palette even if straying from it occasionally – but that adventurous spirit has always remained. Now, he deploys his sonic wanderings more effectively, using them to highlight both new sides of his artistry and finessed old niches. It’s part of how he’s become one of the biggest artists in the world, and created a balancing act in and around his record-breaking eight diamond-certified tracks.

Ahead of the arrival of the star’s fifth album ‘Austin’ on Friday (July 28), here are 10 tracks that chart Post Malone’s musical growth and story so far.

‘White Iverson’ (2015)

‘White Iverson’ is where it all began for Posty. His debut single slow-burned through the first half of 2015, soon securing him the attention of record labels. As well as setting up the rest of his career, it also introduced us to key elements of his sound for the years to come – a melancholic, often tremulous vocal style, a musical foundation made of sparse, clipped beats, lyrics that nodded to the struggles of success, and hip-hop approached with a sense of experimentation.

‘I Fall Apart’ (2016)

One of the standout songs on Post’s debut album ‘Stoney’, ‘I Fall Apart’ laid the star’s emotional side bare. Glittering fragments of guitar melodies shone between piano twinkles, before a sketch-like beat entered the fray. Over it all, the musician lamented an ex in heart-wrenching vocals and downcast raps. It might have been slightly more polished than the rest of the album’s rough-around-the-edges tracklist, but ‘I Fall Apart’ still captures the raw energy of Post Malone’s early years.

‘Better Now’ (2018)

As far as Post Malone’s second album ‘Beerbongs And Bentleys’ goes, lead single ‘rockstar’ might have been the record’s first chart-topping mega-hit – it’s now one of the star’s eight diamond-certified tracks – but ‘Better Now’ was his first real flirtation with out-and-out pop. He did it entirely in his own way, though, keeping his core DNA of a minimal, beat-driven backing and booze-soaked, despondent lyrics, the spotlight shone entirely on the infectious chorus.

‘Sunflower’ (with Swae Lee) (2018)

It wouldn’t be surprising if ‘Sunflower’ was an anomaly in Posty’s catalogue. Although it later appeared on his third album ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’, it was originally written for the Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse soundtrack, giving it more constraints than a typical song for his own record might have. But the breezy, expansive feel of the Swae Lee collab hinted at brighter territory in Post’s future, opening up and broadening out his sound from his previous, dingier compositions.

‘Circles’ (2019)

Another chart-topping diamond song, 2019 single ‘Circles’ presented the most obvious sonic successor to ‘Sunflower’. Built around a revolving, bouncy acoustic chord pattern, it provided another moment of light among the dark of ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ and an airy, effortlessly anthemic continuation of Post’s pop-leaning momentum.

‘Take What You Want’ (featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott) (2019)

For all the rounding out of edges that naturally took place between ‘Stoney’ and ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’, Post Malone’s new-found cohesiveness didn’t stop him from trying new things. On the stormy ‘Take What You Want’, he brought together an unlikely combination, introducing metal icon Ozzy Osbourne’s inimitable cries to Travis Scott’s digitised rap over a rousing rock base. Somehow, it worked incredibly well.

‘Internet’ (2019)

Co-written by Kanye West, ‘Internet’ continued Post’s ambitious approach to his music. The social media-rejecting song spent much of its run-time with instrumentation as a subtle, secondary element of the track. But 40 seconds before the end, the rapper and singer’s voice dropped out and an orchestra took the lead, bringing beauty to bad feeling.

‘I Like You (A Happier Song)’ (featuring Doja Cat) (2022)

One of Post’s catchiest songs to date, ‘I Like You (A Happier Song)’ once again proved his knack for writing modern pop gems – while also falling back on his habit of depicting women as “bitches” and “whores”. The star has teamed up with many of music’s biggest names across his career, but recruiting Doja Cat here is perhaps one of his best moves so far – her rasped verse contrasted perfectly with the soft, gleaming synths and skitters to create something not just infectious, but also magical.

‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol’ (featuring Fleet Foxes (2022)

Post has often spoken about Fleet Foxes’ influence on his music over the years and, on ‘Twelve Carat Toothache’, he finally got to work with them. ‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol’ fleshes out both his previous folkier songs, like ‘Stoney’’s ‘Feeling Whitney’ or ‘Beerbongs & Bentleys’’ ‘Stay’, and his experiments with strings (2015’s ‘Go Flex’, ‘Internet’). The results were something that felt like a coming together of chamber-pop, indie-folk and hip-hop, and one of Post’s most accomplished songs to date.

‘Overdrive’ (2023)

Of the three pre-release tracks from Posty’s fifth album ‘Austin’, ‘Overdrive’ continued the grand scope of ‘Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol’, while moving on its subject matter tangentially. If the 2022 track discussed Post’s relationship with the sauce, then this whistling, piano-led and string-laden ballad found him offering to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to “be cool” to a partner. Moving, mature and pulling from classic pop sounds, it suggested that ‘Austin’ could be the musician’s most epic album yet.

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