issue 2// vol 46

 

‘Hollywood's Bleeding

» Post Malone album analysis—part one

Sonam Kaloti
Arts Editor

 

cc ollywood’s Bleeding” is the first
track on the album and it starts with
a focus on vocals on top of soft acoustic
guitar strumming. The song reflects on
the celebrity Hollywood lifestyle: “We're
running out of reasons but we can't let go.
Yeah, Hollywood’s bleeding but we call
it home.” Malone describes the love-hate
relationship he has with the industry; he
knows it’s progressively getting worse and
worse, yet it is where he belongs. The song
reminds me of a captain vowing to go down
with the ship.

“Saint-Tropez” is an upbeat song,
working funky beats in the verses
and slowing down in the chorus. It’s
an unexpected second track after the
introspective and rather morose first one.
Having “Saint-Tropez” as the second track
was a smart play to avoid implying that
the entire album’s tone is the same as the
one introduced by the first track. The song
discusses the luxuries Malone is finally able
to experience after a long time of working
hard towards this lifestyle. In an interview
with Spotify, Malone said “I don’t want
to be fucking miserable all the time, so
sometimes, I like to just go buck-wild with
the boys. And that’s what that’s kind of
about.”

“Enemies,” featuring DaBaby, is
another reflective song. It has a mix of the
darker, analytical lyrics of “Hollywood
Bleeding,” paired with the dance beats

and uplifting vocals of “Saint-Tropez.” The
track is a relatable one, being a simpler
commentary on the loss of friends (turned
enemies). This topic seems to be common
among celebrities. Being a not-so-rich
college student with fair knowledge on
what cliques and popularity can do to
friendships in high school, it’s easy to
imagine Hollywood being the high-stakes
and too-public version of the same thing.
Nonetheless, I’ve heard songs about bad
friends enough to mark this one off as
uncreative.

“Allergic” is refreshing! The beat
sounds less soft-synth hip-hop and more
rock with its heavier drums. The vocals
are reaching for pop. For what seems
like a breakup song, it has a surprisingly
empowering vibe because the speaker is
completely aware of the toxicity of their
relationship.

“A Thousand Bad Times,” is another
confident song about people attempting
to take advantage of Malone, but because
he’s seen it all before, it doesn’t affect him
as much. At this point in the album I’ve
come to appreciate the very celebrity point
of view Malone writes in. I’m sure he knows
many of the topics he writes about may not
be directly relatable to many of his fans,
but he stays true to who he is and where
he’s at in his career—which is extremely
respectable. “You say you don't know me,
but I know that’s false,” and I’ve certainly
never been concerned with someone I’m
meeting to not know who I am. Malone
is being straight up though, and because

Doing it their way

> A profile of rising singer-songwriter Keigh

Craig Allan
Contributor

 

t can be tough being a creative person in

Vancouver. With venues shutting down
in every field from music, to comedy and
arts, it can be hard to establish oneself as
a creative person in the Lower Mainland.
Even tougher when having to deal with the
sky high cost of living. Despite all these
factors, there are people out there defying
the odds and succeeding in their creative
dreams in the expensive big city. One of
those people is Keigh, who after years of
struggle and addiction has beaten their
demons and will be releasing their debut
album, In Bed With The Enemy (IBWE) on
September 14.

Keigh, who is non-binary, was

always fascinated by music. They grew
up playing piano on their grandmother's
100-year-old Stevenson piano, starting
in classical music and later moving on to
train in jazz and pop styles. Eventually,
their work was noticed and they were cast
ona Canadian reality competition show
called Rock Camp in 2005, when they were
just 14 years old. “Rock Camp was such
an incredible experience. They picked 18
kids from across the country and flew us
to Halifax and formed us into four bands
[...] Our band won and we recorded the
single with Electric and Musical Industries
(EMI), which was my first experience in a
professional studio.” The show was often

pre-empted by hockey though and the
single failed to break into the mainstream.
As Keigh entered their 20s, their
musical ambitions began to wane. With
their musical dreams left behind Keigh
entered a period of struggle. They spent
years trying to keep their head above water,
eventually falling into alcoholism and drug
addiction. Keigh’s salvation would come
in an unlikely form, by way of an alter ego
named Clementine, and a job in the sex
trade. “My career in sex work blossomed
and gave me the financial stability and
self-confidence I needed to come back to
music in a real and committed way. There’s
less pressure now to ‘make it’ as a musician
because I already have a successful career
and can support myself without worrying
about losing my joy for music by tying

 

of that we're able to empathize with him
and relate his lyrics to our own similar
situations, which is exactly the way art
works best.

“Circles” is a slower, more atmospheric
track. It makes use of repetition in the
chorus—easy to learn and sing-along to, so
I predict this one will find itself in a lot of
playlists centred on the tragedy of modern
romance. It sounds nice, but it’s generic
and I’m already sick of hearing it on the
second play.

“Die For Me,” featuring Future and
Halsey, begins stronger than most of the
songs so far. With a radio hit-type beat, it’s
the longest track on the album. Halsey’s
feature is a nice change of pace (and pitch).
Her voice suits the hip-hop beat very well,
and she experiments with a lot of range—
from belting to whispering—which is
stimulating to listen to.

“On The Road” features Meek Mill
and Lil Baby. The vocals distinguish this
track from the rest. Malone’s staple voice

it with financial stress.’ Their job in sex
work also gave them the experience of
being a business manager, a skill that any
self-managed musician needs to succeed.
A life of music, struggles, and overcoming
adversity has manifested into their first
independently produced debut album
IBWE.

“Some of these songs are 15 years old.
They span what I like to call the ‘before
time’ which was the time before I quit
drinking. I started the studio process on
this album when I was still in that time,
and honestly don’t think I would have ever
been able to finish it if I hadn't gone sober.”

Keigh describes their musical style as
“chamber pop” with their sound being a
merging influence between their classical
music upbringing, and Canadian indie

Photo of Keigh via @keighmusic on Twitter

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is smooth and sounds inherently positive,
however in this song, Malone finally
sounds aggressive and it is amazing. This is
the gym playlist song, the “fuck everyone,
I’m coming out on top” song, and surely
the, “I’m not about to have a breakdown,
I’m going to work hard and ace this exam”
song. We needed at least one of these, bless
you Post Malone.

The first half of the album is, for
the most part, what I expected. Though
I was pleasantly surprised with some
experimental lyrics which I’m always
a sucker for (especially those that are
reflective). There’s been some cliché topics
and that’s a given: They make buck—but
I’m hoping the next half of the album
continues with Malone’s sincere and
perceptive lyrics demonstrated in tracks,
“Hollywood's Bleeding,” and “A Thousand
Bad Times.” The juxtaposition of bright
beats under woeful words is working, and
I’m excited to review and rank the second
half of Hollywood's Bleeding.

style. “I focus on the instruments and
harmonies a lot, and my music has a fuller
sound.” This can be heard on their song
“The Close.” The song contains imagery
of passing out intoxicated in the snow,
and a pursuit to a finish line that can only
be achieved by leaving some undesired
traits behind. Throughout, one can hear a
plethora of instrumental music that form
Keigh’s unique style.

Keigh’s album also contains a
contribution from Canadian rock star
Torquil Campbell of the band Stars. “To
have Torquil come in and believe in me
enough to first of all encourage me to make
the album, but then also to sing along to
me, is life-changing. I still have to pinch
myself sometimes when I listen to it.”

IBWE is the culmination of a lifetime
of success, struggles and perseverance for
Keigh, and in a city like Vancouver, where
living, thriving and success can seem like
impossible to achieve, Keigh is an example
of succeeding in the pursuit of life and
happiness. Keigh’s journey to this point
may not be glamourous to some, but it is
that journey and those experiences that
made their album what it is. It provides
the flavour that drives their album to
be uniquely and unabashedly Keigh.
Keigh will be celebrating their album by
performing it at Blue Light Studio on
September 14 as part of their “Blue Light
Sessions” series. Tickets can be bought at
Eventbrite.