Mike Posner, of “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” and “Cooler Than Me” fame, has returned to the world of music to release his brand-new album, “The Beginning.” Released on Feb. 21, the album is a short 13 tracks — one of which isn’t a song, but we’ll get to that — for a total of 46 minutes. I think of myself as someone who can enjoy many kinds of music, yet Mike Posner has failed me in this respect.
For those unfamiliar with Posner’s work, the aforementioned single “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” gave him a short yet powerful stint in the spotlight. Although Posner has been making music since then, he was never able to achieve the same level of stardom again. Despite this, some of the songs he’s written and given to other artists have still become massive successes, such as Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend.”
“The Beginning” opens with a track titled “February 9, 2025,” which consists solely of Posner’s voice. He asks the listener to experience the album without any distractions and shares some details on what the album means to him. We’ll come back to this. He’s also way too close to the microphone for it. Like, way too close. You can hear his mouth. It’s uncomfortable.
The album ultimately is about healing and personal retrospection. He touches on feeling lost, struggling with romance and some spiritual themes.
Let’s start with some positives. Posner leans into an EDM, house-like sound throughout the album. It’s all lowkey, meaning it isn’t overkill. It can get a little boring, but it’s not necessarily bad on its own.
Some of the songs are also decent. I don’t love “Veil of Maya,” but the general feel of the song is solid in some sections.
Posner does make a few odd production choices that don’t gel with me personally. “Back Around” is especially off-putting, as Posner’s voice has a robotic voice filter on it. “High Forever” has the same issue, except that it has the added non-bonus of Posner’s attempt at rapping — if you can call it that.
The biggest failure of “The Beginning” is easily the lyricism. The first real song, “Beautiful Day,” begins with the lyrics: “It’s a beautiful day to be alive / February in New York, such a vibe.” They’re simple, often repetitive lyrics, with a lack of subtlety behind them. This repetition could be forgiven, but the lyrics aren’t catchy enough to make up for it. There’s nothing to hook the listener.
In terms of repetitiveness, “Kaleidoscope of Emotion” isn’t that bad for the first half of the song. It’s pleasant, with some calming guitar, but he also ends the song by saying — you guessed it — the words “kaleidoscope of emotion” seven times. Posner does this sort of thing a lot in this album.
Ultimately, “The Beginning” lacks complexity. Posner is trying to share a message of healing, self-love and growth, but it doesn’t land because it feels like he’s just saying it to you. He’s preaching, not singing.
The instrumentals are mostly fine. They don’t feel particularly creative, but they aren’t egregious. The lyrics are where the songs fail for me.
It’s also hard to really connect with the album when it starts with such failures. The second to last song, “Time to Make a Change” featuring MonoNeon, is sort of catchy. Unfortunately, the opening song “Beautiful Day” is a miss, and the songs that follow it aren’t good either.
“February 9, 2025” encapsulates what is wrong with the album very quickly. Posner tells you what his songs are about. He doesn’t add any complex emotional core. And just like the rest of “The Beginning,” he fails to draw the listener in.
I’m sorry, but where is your soul? Mike Posner’s is out in the open, beautiful and broken. He is working on listening to it, healing and teaching himself and healing and teaching others. At least that is what he is doing for me. Giving. You may hear a robotic filter – but you are missing the deepest voice of our generation. Who is robotic now? With love, Greg
Did you listen to one of his prior albums, Operation Wakeup? It’s also “just his voice” and he is such a good songwriter. Also i think Veil of Maya is beautiful.