Austin (album)

Austin is the fifth studio album by American musician Post Malone. It was released through Republic and Mercury Records on July 28, 2023. The bonus version of the album was released five days later to include a new track. Production was handled by Malone himself, Andrew Watt, Louis Bell, Max Martin, and Rami Yacoub. Austin was supported by four singles: "Chemical", "Mourning", "Overdrive", and "Enough Is Enough". A departure from the hip hop-driven sounds of its predecessor, it is a synth-pop, indie pop, and alternative rock album, and is Malone's first project not to feature any guest appearances.^[1][2][3] Austin received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number two on Billboard 200 chart, in which it earned 113,000 album-equivalent units, of which 34,000 units were pure album sales.

Austin
Studio album by Post Malone
Released	July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
Studio	Henson Recording Studio
Genre	Synth-pop indie pop alternative rock
Length	51:27
Label	Republic Mercury
Producer	Post Malone Andrew Watt Louis Bell Max Martin Rami Yacoub
Post Malone chronology
The Diamond Collection (2023) Austin (2023)
Singles from Austin
"Chemical" Released: April 14, 2023 "Mourning" Released: May 19, 2023 "Overdrive" Released: July 14, 2023 "Enough Is Enough" Released: September 8, 2023

Background and promotion

On May 15, 2023, Malone posted a video on Instagram to announce the album, which is titled after his real first name.^[4][5] The message hinted at a different artistic approach, possibly intensifying the sound of his fourth studio album, Twelve Carat Toothache (2022).^[6] Malone revealed that he played the guitar on every single song on the album, calling the creation process a "fun experience".^[7] He described the outcome as the "most challenging and rewarding music" he had ever made, which was a product of constantly making himself work to make it.^[8] That same day, Malone also announced a summer North American tour called the If Ya'll Weren't Here, I'd Be Crying Tour to accompany the release of the album, which later became a world tour that started on July 8 and ended on December 3, 2023.^[9]

Singles

On April 14, 2023, Malone released the lead single of the album, "Chemical".^[10] The second single of the album, "Mourning", was released on May 19.^[11] The third single, "Overdrive", was released on July 14.^[12] The fourth and final single, "Enough Is Enough", was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio, on September 8, 2023.^[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	66/100^[14]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[15]
Clash	7/10^[16]
NME	^[17]
Pitchfork	5.5/10^[1]
Slant Magazine	^[18]

Austin received a score of 66 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on ten critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.^[14] Erica Campbell of NME wrote that Malone's "shift from trap beats and hip-hop delivery to purer pop suits [him] well, proving that slowing down can be a creative advantage, especially when you're heading in the right direction",^[17] while Clash's Robin Murray described Austin as "an album that dares to buck trends, and at its best can be genuinely moving".^[16]

Rolling Stone's Clayton Purdom wrote that "even if Austin is Post's guitar record, it's not his rock record", and found that "plenty of it works" even if "the immense self-loathing with which the record introduces itself finds no clear resolution by the end, despite many allusions on otherwise-peppy songs".^[19] Paul Attard of Slant Magazine commented that "little on the album could be regarded as hip-hop-oriented" as its tracks "are primarily structured around stadium-sized pop hooks", which he found "all follow the same overly simplistic pop structure".^[18] Writing for Pitchfork, Brad Shoup felt that Austin "is Post at his strongest: audaciously raiding the entire pop toolkit" and "even after forsaking Los Angeles for Utah, his life remains a movie: loaded with state-of-the-industry pyrotechnics, bristling with guns, and littered with synergistic product tie-ins", which makes the album "in directorial terms, a one-for-me situation: a passion project secured with almost a decade at the summit of pop-rap as collateral".^[1] Riff magazine wrote that Austin was "influenced by ’80s and ’90s alternative rock," which tended to "slow down the middle of the album."^[3]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Austin debuted at number two on Billboard 200 chart, earning 113,000 album-equivalent units (including 34,000 in pure album sales) in its first week. This became Malone's fifth top-five album on the chart after all his previous studio albums reached the top five. The album also accumulated a total of 101.14 million on-demand streams of the album's songs.^[20]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Post Malone, Andrew Watt, and Louis Bell, except where noted.

Austin track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Don't Understand"	Austin Post Andrew Wotman Louis Bell	3:03
2.	"Something Real"	Post Wotman Bell Billy Walsh	3:25
3.	"Chemical"	Post Wotman Bell Walsh	3:04
4.	"Novacandy"	Post Wotman Bell Walsh	3:17
5.	"Mourning"	Post Wotman Bell	2:28
6.	"Too Cool to Die"	Post Wotman Bell Walsh	3:25
7.	"Sign Me Up" (producers: Post Malone, Bell, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub)	Post Bell Martin Yacoub Walsh	3:19
8.	"Socialite"	Post Wotman Bell Walsh	3:20
9.	"Overdrive"	Post Wotman Bell Walsh	2:28
10.	"Speedometer"	Post Wotman Bell	2:42
11.	"Hold My Breath"	Post Wotman Bell	3:29
12.	"Enough Is Enough" (producers: Post Malone, Bell, Martin, Yacoub)	Post Bell Martin Yacoub Walsh	2:45
13.	"Texas Tea" (producers: Post Malone, Bell, Yacoub)	Post Bell Yacoub Walsh	2:20
14.	"Buyer Beware"	Post Wotman Bell	2:53
15.	"Landmine"	Post Wotman Bell	3:05
16.	"Green Thumb"	Post Wotman Bell	2:39
17.	"Laugh It Off"	Post Wotman Bell	4:06
Total length:			51:27

Bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
18.	"Joy"	Post Wotman Bell	4:47
Total length:			56:14

Personnel

Musicians

• Post Malone – vocals, guitar (all tracks); drums (tracks 3, 7, 12, 15), tambourine (3), programming (4, 6), drum programming (5), piano (8, 15), bass guitar (12)
• Louis Bell – programming (all tracks), piano (1–6, 8–11, 14, 15, 17, 18), drum programming (2, 3, 5–10, 12–15, 17, 18), bass programming (2, 4–10, 12–14, 17, 18), keyboards (2–10, 12–14, 17, 18)
• Andrew Watt – guitar (1–6, 8–11, 14–17), bass guitar (1, 3, 6, 8–11, 14, 17, 18), drums (2–4, 6, 8–11, 14, 17, 18), keyboards (3), programming (4, 17, 18), piano (10)
• David Campbell – string arrangement (1, 9, 11), conductor (11)
• Paula Hochhalter – violin (1), cello (9, 11)
• Josefina Vergara – violin (1)
• Tammy Hatwan – violin (1)
• Mick Jagger – maracas (3)
• Max Martin – guitar, piano (7, 12); bass guitar (7), keyboards (12)
• Rami Yacoub – bass guitar (7), guitar (13)
• Jacob Braun – cello (9, 11)
• Rodney Wirtz – viola (9, 11)
• Linnea Powell – viola (9, 11)
• Luke Maurer – viola (9, 11)
• Songa Lee – violin (9, 11)
• Sara Parkins – violin (9, 11)
• Philip Vaiman – violin (9, 11)
• Neil Samples – violin (9, 11)
• Michele Richards – violin (9, 11)
• Joel Pargman – violin (9, 11)
• Mario De Leon – violin (9, 11)
• Charlie Bisharat – violin (9, 11)

Technical

• Mike Bozzi – mastering
• Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing
• Marco Sonzini – engineering (1–4, 6, 8–11, 14–18)
• Paul Lamalfa – engineering (1–4, 6, 8–11, 14–18)
• Louis Bell – engineering (4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 15)
• Jed Jones – engineering (13, 15), engineering assistance (2, 3, 6, 8, 9)
• Joe Dougherty – engineering assistance (1, 2, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18)
• Braden Bursteen – engineering assistance (2, 4, 15)
• Tommy Turner – engineering assistance (2, 4, 15)
• Kelsey Porter – engineering assistance (14, 17, 18)
• Marc VanGool - Guitar Technician, Studio Technician

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Austin Chart (2023) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[21] 2 Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)^[22] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[23] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[24] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[25] 7 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[26] 4 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[27] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[28] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[29] 10 French Albums (SNEP)^[30] 10 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[31] 4 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[32] 16 Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)^[33] 4 Irish Albums (OCC)^[34] 2 Italian Albums (FIMI)^[35] 8 Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)^[36] 22 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)^[37] 63 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)^[38] 11 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[39] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[40] 2 Polish Albums (ZPAV)^[41] 16 Portuguese Albums (AFP)^[42] 7 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[43] 7 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[44] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[45] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[46] 2 UK Albums (OCC)^[47] 3 US Billboard 200^[48] 2 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[49] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Austin Chart (2023) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[50] 100 US Billboard 200^[51] 158

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[52]	Silver	60,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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3. Simons, Matthew (July 28, 2023). "ALBUM REVIEW: Post Malone props up 'Austin' with shining singles, some filler". Riff Magazine. from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
4. Paul, Larisha (May 16, 2023). "Post Malone Announces Self-Titled Album 'Austin'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
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