When Post Malone revealed he was working on his fourth album in 2021, he reportedly wanted the new tunes to “lift up people".
However, it seems the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lack of touring opportunities sent him down a darker, introspective path.
The new Twelve Carat Toothache, which was released on Friday, is the US pop star's most personal album yet and is full of the ruminations that come from being cooped up indoors — even if it’s a $3 million mansion in Utah.
That being said, Malone hasn’t lost his knack for genre-bending tunes, with his dynamic vocals seamlessly shifting between croons and melodic raps to a rock snarl.
Such transitions keep the album engrossing and cements Malone’s standing as one of the great artists of his era.
Here are three things know about Twelve Carat Toothache.
1. Being famous is not fun
Malone follows a long line of musicians bemoaning the destructive and isolating nature of fame. In that sense, the subjects explored in Twelve Carat Toothache is a neat accompaniment to 2019's Hollywood’s Bleeding.
Where those songs marvelled at the excess of celebrity, Malone is more circumspect in the follow-up. "I'm a damn fool," he laments in the album's opener Reputation, a lush and cinematic piano ballad about past mistakes.
The shoe-gazing is deeper in Insane, where Malone owns up to his poor and misogynistic behaviour with women ("Don't you believe me? / You can ask her," he sings).
That self-loathing attitude, however, is tempered with the kind of winning trap hip-hop beats that made Wow a club staple.
Dark lyricism and bouncy production is also found in I Cannot Be (A Sadder Song), which finds Malone arguing with an ex-partner about their toxic relationship: "I know that I ain't perfect, but you so mean."
2. No big musical surprises
In Twelve Carat Toothache, Malone doubles down on his musical choices. A lot of this is down to collaborating with long-time producer Louis Bell, who co-wrote all 14 tracks.
The sounds are lush, expansive and ambient.
The record sidesteps most of the abrupt beat and tempo changes currently popular in mainstream hip-hop, instead the songs have been created to wash over listeners.
When it works, such as in future hits Wrapped Around Your Finger and When I Am Alone — the latter of which Malone's tenor eerily resembles The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers — the album is sublime.
The commitment to such an approach results in some filler tracks such as the plodding Euthanasia and Wasting Angels; which is an unfortunate waste of a collaboration with Malone’s heir apparent The Kid Laroi.
3. It is tailor-made for streaming
By keeping the tracks sonically uniform and at a brisk 43 minutes, Twelve Carat Toothache is perfect for streaming and it doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Buoyed by the success of Hollywood's Bleeding, Malone ended 2019 as Spotify's most streamed artist with 6.5 billion streams.
Judging by the follow-up, Malone is once again in the running to finish this year on top.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
The%20specs
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
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