Lil Nas X - MONTERO ALBUM REVIEW
So, based on the pregnancy marketing, would this album be 15 inches and 46 pounds…?
It’s no secret that Lil Nas X is one of the biggest stars in the world right now. What everyone thought would be a one-hit-wonder in “Old Town Road” ended up becoming a pop icon within the past couple of years, and it’s really astounding to see. Especially for the rollout for this album, we’ve seen him go through controversy after controversy. Granted, I think most of these are just very stupid. Giving the king of Hell a lapdance, making Satan shoes (come on, guys, this isn’t the Salem Witch Trials), showering and dancing with a group of naked men, and calling your album your baby while going around looking pregnant for a few weeks isn’t worth the controversy. I actually think the marketing ended up working in his favor, making Lil Nas X seem like a very genuine and likable guy. It also helped that all of the singles for this were fantastic. His debut album, titled MONTERO, has some pretty high-profile names attached to it like Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, and Kanye West. So, let’s sit down and talk about one of the most anticipated albums of the year.
Alright, there’s one musical act I forgot to mention above, and that’s the producer duo of Take A Daytrip. They produced 10 of the 15 songs on here, and the production on here is absolutely incredible. I’d say that this is definitely one of the best-sounding pop albums of the year so far, and it’s mainly thanks to Take A Daytrip. When it comes to the actual sound of this, it’s just straightforward, mainstream pop music. It just happens to be that Nas X is incredible at this sound. I tend to not talk about song structure or anything, mainly because the casual music listener doesn’t really think about it until it’s not there, but nearly all of these tracks are examples of how to make a good and catchy song. Of course, he’s a hit-making machine, but there’s another aspect of this that I have to touch on. We have a bonafide pop star that’s black and queer and makes music about being black and queer. I can’t relate to being a black man, mainly because I’m a white boy from suburban Ohio, but I’m bisexual on top of that. Songs like the title track or “SUN GOES DOWN” and a video like “INDUSTRY BABY” not only having this much attention and praise, but existing at all, is a huge fucking deal.
On the writing side, there are a lot of queer narratives here. It’s not like the songs can be interpreted about relationships with men. They’re directly about men and it’s unavoidable. To quote Montero himself in a promotional video that came out with the album’s release, ‘That’s fucking gay.’ I really appreciate it when someone is being authentic and genuine in their music, and in Lil Nas X’s case, it shows quite a bit here and it’s something that we don’t see too often, especially in the mainstream.
Some are probably gonna think of this or even dismiss this as a regular mainstream pop album, but against all odds, MONTERO is an absolute triumph. Lil Nas X proves himself as a mainstay in music with great writing and a unique personality to boot. I’m glad that this album was made for the people that it will impact, and even if it doesn’t connect with me, this is just still great pop music. Lil Nas X is a star.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
MONTERO is a Columbia Records release.
It’s no secret that Lil Nas X is one of the biggest stars in the world right now. What everyone thought would be a one-hit-wonder in “Old Town Road” ended up becoming a pop icon within the past couple of years, and it’s really astounding to see. Especially for the rollout for this album, we’ve seen him go through controversy after controversy. Granted, I think most of these are just very stupid. Giving the king of Hell a lapdance, making Satan shoes (come on, guys, this isn’t the Salem Witch Trials), showering and dancing with a group of naked men, and calling your album your baby while going around looking pregnant for a few weeks isn’t worth the controversy. I actually think the marketing ended up working in his favor, making Lil Nas X seem like a very genuine and likable guy. It also helped that all of the singles for this were fantastic. His debut album, titled MONTERO, has some pretty high-profile names attached to it like Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, and Kanye West. So, let’s sit down and talk about one of the most anticipated albums of the year.
Alright, there’s one musical act I forgot to mention above, and that’s the producer duo of Take A Daytrip. They produced 10 of the 15 songs on here, and the production on here is absolutely incredible. I’d say that this is definitely one of the best-sounding pop albums of the year so far, and it’s mainly thanks to Take A Daytrip. When it comes to the actual sound of this, it’s just straightforward, mainstream pop music. It just happens to be that Nas X is incredible at this sound. I tend to not talk about song structure or anything, mainly because the casual music listener doesn’t really think about it until it’s not there, but nearly all of these tracks are examples of how to make a good and catchy song. Of course, he’s a hit-making machine, but there’s another aspect of this that I have to touch on. We have a bonafide pop star that’s black and queer and makes music about being black and queer. I can’t relate to being a black man, mainly because I’m a white boy from suburban Ohio, but I’m bisexual on top of that. Songs like the title track or “SUN GOES DOWN” and a video like “INDUSTRY BABY” not only having this much attention and praise, but existing at all, is a huge fucking deal.
On the writing side, there are a lot of queer narratives here. It’s not like the songs can be interpreted about relationships with men. They’re directly about men and it’s unavoidable. To quote Montero himself in a promotional video that came out with the album’s release, ‘That’s fucking gay.’ I really appreciate it when someone is being authentic and genuine in their music, and in Lil Nas X’s case, it shows quite a bit here and it’s something that we don’t see too often, especially in the mainstream.
Some are probably gonna think of this or even dismiss this as a regular mainstream pop album, but against all odds, MONTERO is an absolute triumph. Lil Nas X proves himself as a mainstay in music with great writing and a unique personality to boot. I’m glad that this album was made for the people that it will impact, and even if it doesn’t connect with me, this is just still great pop music. Lil Nas X is a star.
10/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
MONTERO is a Columbia Records release.
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