Pop Malone…
[Video]
[5.12]
Oliver Maier: Congrats to Post Malone for releasing the best Katy Perry song of 2019.
[7]
Alfred Soto: He’s entered the early Reagan-era L.A. studio pop of his career, and the results are as pleasant, tuneful, and anonymous. Look at his hair — he’s ready for the part.
[5]
Joshua Lu: It was inevitable that Post Malone would go pop; it was only a bit less inevitable that he would go faux-indie rock, veering dangerously close to Twenty One Pilots territory via gratuitous Tame Impala basslines. “Circles” is a nice enough jam that could’ve been a fitting b-side to “My Blood,” and maybe even a proper Trench album track if Post didn’t sound like he was gargling every time he tried to hold a note.
[5]
Tobi Tella: The most excruciating part of Post Malone is the general blah-ness of all of his songs. They’re never obnoxiously bad, they’re just boring and downtrodden for someone who’s postured themselves as a king of “hype” music. This is thankfully uptempo, and I appreciate him cutting the BS and not pretending it’s not a pop song. It’s a strong and groovy melody, the undeniable kind that makes a smash hit, but then I have to listen to Post moan about the same old poorly defined relationship BS and I tune out. No matter the style of track behind him, the surface-level lazy lyrics shine through.
[5]
Katherine St Asaph: Post Malone makes a dream-pop song; everyone discovers a new, unanticipated, extra-guilty pleasure. Or would, if the vocal production weren’t so flagrantly awful — loud, blown-out, bleaty in a way that can’t entirely be his fault — and if the onset of flagrant awfuless wasn’t timed such that you start really paying attention to Post’s vocals right as they’re delivering “THE SEX THOUGH, SEX THOUGH.”
[6]
Vikram Joseph: The hazy, processed guitars in the first 15 seconds send off an unexpectedly pleasant dream-pop vibe. And then the spell is rudely broken by a clunky beat and an even clunkier singer, and “Circles” proceeds to drone on for a seemingly interminable 3:36 in search of a memorable hook that’s never in danger of showing up.
[3]
Joshua Minsoo Kim: That bassline, nimble but full-bodied, finds a rightful counterpart during the second verse. Post Malone’s end rhymes begin with a stark “Let. Go.” — a moment of clarity before he resorts to a slurry of melodramatic reminiscing. The full-on reverb makes his near-tears delivery more robust.
[6]
Josh Buck: The verses on this song are impossibly dull. Literally no one who behaves or looks like Post Malone should be allowed to write something so sleep-inducing. No vocal effort and it seems like Postey settled on then central loop and then walked away from the table. But the chorus is…fine? In a “welp, this song is gonna dominate the fall so I guess I’ll figure out how to tolerate it” sort of way. The Sad Boy Pop thing is something he’s capable of crushing, but this one’s a miss.
[4]