On
Post Malone's studio debut
Stoney, the Dallas-raised musician with gold grills and braids sing-raps his way through an album's worth of woozy R&B-inflected hip-hop. As a fan of rap and its associated culture,
Post delivers with moderate respect, careful not to toe the precarious line over which others like
Iggy Azalea and
Riff Raff have stumbled. Although he plays guitar and is influenced by
Tim McGraw as much as
Kanye West,
Stoney is mostly devoid of that country twang, save for some outlaw grit on "Broken Whiskey Glass" and faint strumming on "Go Flex" (bonus track "Leave" actually captures his true cross-genre nature best). Mostly, that part of his background only comes through when he chooses to sing. Those tracks -- notably "No Option" and "I Fall Apart" -- work best, featuring strong vocals that quiver when he pushes it to the limit. Guest vocalists and producers like
Kehlani ("Feel"),
River Tiber ("Cold"),
Pharrell Williams ("Up There"), and
Quavo and
Metro Boomin ("Congratulations") bolster
Stoney with both atmosphere and credibility, while tourmate
Justin Bieber increases the star power on the sweet "Cha-Cha"/"Hotline Bling"-esque "Deja Vu." On the aptly titled
Stoney,
Post Malone provides an appropriate soundtrack for a certain type of recreational rest and relaxation. ~ Neil Z. Yeung