If you have been living under a rock, you may not have heard about the summer’s most bewildering development: Post Malone’s country album. Studded with southern legends (Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, and Luke Combs, to name a few), “F-1 Trillion” is a project of epic proportions. With 18 tracks, 15 features, and an already available deluxe version (“F-1 Trillion: Long Bed”), the rapper takes a sharp career turn towards Nashville, Tennessee.
The album opens with the audacious and catchy track “Wrong Ones” ft Tim McGraw. Malone wastes no time calling on common country music motifs, a calculated move to sell this seemingly anachronistic project. The first lyric, “Lift kit on a limousine, I got 10 problems down in Tennessee,” is followed by immediate references to “cold ones” and cigarette smoke. The result is an intro that — no matter the cognitive dissonance of knowing it’s Post Malone singing it — feels like a bona fide country song. The chorus is raunchy in that careful country way, carried by guitar solos, heavy production, and Tim McGraw’s recognizable voice. Overall, it’s a successful opener meant to keep skeptics (as I’ll admit I once was) listening.
Tracks two through four follow a similar format to lesser results. “Finer Things” is amusing on the first listen but has little replay value. “I Had Some Help” is relatable and upbeat but relies on a repetitive pop-style chorus. “Pour Me A Drink” has twice the repetition and half the charm and was clearly engineered to serenade patrons of Blake Shelton’s (the tracks feature) Nashville honky tonk, Ole Red.
The album picks back up with, of course, a Dolly Parton feature. “Have the Heart” is slow, sweet, and reminiscent of an age gone by. Though it is the most traditional track, its nostalgia and sincerity keep it from being dated. Its simple romanticism segues into what I consider the project’s best song.
“What Don’t Belong to Me” is one of “F-1 Trillion’” rare featureless tracks, giving us a chance to test Malone’s solo country chops. He rises to the challenge with an ode to country’s favorite subject — troubled relationships. The singer promises his lover “I’ll give you everything in the world, but my heart” before launching into an explanatory, semi-autobiographical chorus, “‘cuz I gave half to them halfway lovers, I left some to them two drunk summers, left a piece at the bar with the keys to the car…” and so forth, ending with “Baby, I can’t give you what don’t belong to me.” If you only listen to one track, I suggest it be this one. It’s a laidback pop-folk song that even the staunchest of country haters could enjoy.
The rest of the album continues with a series of playful features, except for the ballad-esque “Nosedive,” and is generally an enjoyable listen. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. At times romantic, introspective, funny, and inundated with alcoholism, “F-1 Trillion” spans the gamut of what modern pop-country looks and sounds like.
If you’ve got 57 minutes and an open mind, give Post Malone’s quarter-life crisis a listen. It’s fun, experimental, and under an hour. Why not?
