Review: Post Malone sounds old-fashioned and deeply committed

POP/ROCK

Post Malone, "Joy"

Malone has emerged as an old-fashioned rock songwriter, reaching for hooks. He's also deeply committed to self-pity. "The harder I try/The more I become miserable/The higher I fly, the lower I go," he sings in the ironically titled "Joy," a bonus track added to his latest album, "Austin." The beat pushes ahead, with a bass line that pulses like a 1980s Cure track, but Post Malone stays proudly mired. A choir arrives at the end to savor the word "miserable."

JON PARELES, New York Times

R&B/HIP-HOP

Halle, "Angel"

Halle — half of the sister duo Chloe x Halle — contrasts celestial perfection with earthly travail in "Angel," a somber but determined self-affirmation that fuses the church and R&B. "Won't let the troubles of the world come weigh me down," she vows. When she sings, "Some might hate and they wait on your fall/They don't know there's a grace for it all," it could well be her dignified response to the racist backlash Halle Bailey received for starring as Ariel in the live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid." Quasi-classical piano arpeggios roll through the song, and Halle's tremulous voice leaps up to high soprano notes as she declares herself to be an angel, "perfectly a masterpiece" even with flaws and scars.

Usher, Summer Walker and 21 Savage, "Good Good"

The world is full of scorched-earth breakup songs, but on "Good Good," this trio teams up for something considerably rarer: a song about staying on decent terms with an ex. "We ain't good-good, but we still good," Usher sings benevolently on the hook, while Walker echoes the sentiment, adding, "We're happier apart than locked in." But it's 21 Savage who makes perhaps the most generous offer: "If you wanna open up a new salon," he raps, "I'd still help pay for the wigs."

LINDSAY ZOLADZ, New York Times

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