MNTRY – LATE TO THE PARTY EP REVIEW

As I have covered the Milwaukee music scene over the last couple of years, I have come to realize how eclectic and vast this scene is. When most people think of music coming from Milwaukee, they think of intense Drill music. Although this style of Hip Hop is prevalent in Milwaukee, there is so much more great music coming from the city that is not in this genre. Milwaukee has a burgeoning R&B wave with a lot of great artists, and one artist who is at the forefront of this wave is MNTRY. MNTRY is an up-and-coming star with a sound and style of music that fits in so well in 2022. He burst onto the scene in 2020 with his single ‘Back Of This Uber,’ and after releasing a couple of singles in 2021, he is back with his debut EP Late To The Party. MNTRY has a sound that feels so modern and retro at the same time. His instrumentals tend to have a melodic R&B Trap sound that reminds me of artists like DJ Luke Nasty or Sammy, but his vocal delivery has an old-school element that is reminiscent of artists like Neyo or Usher. With that being said, this is how I feel about MNTRY’s new project Late To The Party. Please let me know in the comments below how you feel about this EP, and also comment what your favorite songs from the project are.

MNTRY’s new EP starts out with the title track, ‘Late To The Party.’ This song has a melodic Trap sound that is very reminiscent of some of The Weeknd’s work in the mid to late 2010s. The song has a slow and tough Trap beat that is very hard-hitting and a melody that has a dark and murky sound that makes me want to go out on the town and rage. This melody is provided by deep and distorted synths which are complemented by background vocals which give the melody so much depth. I enjoy MNTRY’ flow on this song a lot. Even though it has a Trap beat, he does not use a rap delivery. Instead, his delivery has more of a relaxed feeling to it which makes the beat hit even more. ‘Late To The Party’ has a very literal meaning. On this track, MNTRY is stating that he is having too much fun with his partner to leave and go to the function he is supposed to be at. ‘Purple Emojis’ is the only single that was released preceding the release of this EP. This track has a very modern Melodic Trap sound. It has a sweet and sexy instrumental which has a light and breezy feeling. The song has a super easy-going Trap beat and guitar-driven melody. It is the kind of melody that makes you feel good when you hear it. This instrumental makes me think of artists like Rod Wave or Bleu. MNTRY uses more of a Hip Hop flow on this song. He glides so easily over this instrumental, and his delivery matches the energy of the instrumental well. On ‘Purple Emojis,’ MNTRY is singing about texting a lady late at night to hang out and get freaky. ‘Ain’t The One’ has quite a bit of a different sound than the two that precede it. This track has a lot more punchier a beat with a faster pace, and a warm and cozy melody that has a mid-2000s R&B sound to it. When I hear this instrumental, I think of artists like Mario and J. Holiday. The element of the song that sticks out the most is MNTRY’s vocals. I love how he extends his range on the track and hits the ultra-high falsetto notes. It shows how multi-faceted of a vocalist he is. In ‘Ain’t The One,’ MNTRY is singing to a girl who wants him that she is not the person for him. He knows that she has slept around with all of his friends and that he would not be able to trust her. ‘No Sleep’ is another song that shows the range MNTRY has as an artist, as this song is not similar to the songs that precede it at all. It has a much faster pace than those tracks, and the beat has a less of a Trap feeling to it. Instead, the beat has a lot more of a Pop sound to it. I enjoy this switch-up a lot, as it reinvigorates the energy of the record. The melody is simple and charming, and it goes super well with MNTRY’s vocals. I love how passionate MNTRY sounds on this song. You can feel his emotion when he sings on the track. On ‘No Sleep,’ MNTRY is singing about making love with his woman throughout the whole night and not getting any sleep.

‘Stand the Rain’ is a song that brings back the modern Trap sound that we got earlier on the project. This track has a very bouncy Trap beat paired with a very bright and warm melody that fits so well into the Hip Hop landscape of 2022. This is the kind of instrumental that makes me happy and makes me want to dance; I could imagine hearing this track at a club with everyone in the place singing along to it. The song has such an “anthem” element that I just love. On ‘Stand the Rain,’ MNTRY is singing to a woman he wants to be with and telling her that he can provide for her. If she is with him, she does not have to worry about anything. MNTRY speeds the tempo back up with the next song, which is called ‘Whatever You Want.’ This is another song that would be perfect to play in a club; it has the kind of sound that will make anyone start to move and dance as soon as they hear it. Once again, the song has such a cozy and vibrant melody that puts me in a good mood when I hear it. There are a lot of things about this track that make me think about Chris Brown. Everything from the style of melody to the beat MNTRY’s vocal delivery reminds me a lot of Chris Brown. Specifically, it reminds me of the music he was making in the early to mid-2010s(for example, I remembered the song ‘Strip’ when I first started listening to this track). ‘Whatever You Want’ is yet another example of how diverse an R&B artist MNTRY is. This track has a very literal meaning. On ‘Whatever You Want,’ MNTRY is once again letting his woman know that she can buy anything she desires when she is with him. Late To The Party closes out with ‘Repeat.’ This track is aptly named because it is my favorite track on the project and I can not stop listening to it. This track has an Afrobeat sound to it that totally sticks out on the project in the best way. It is a cool deviation from the rest of the EP. When I hear this beat, it makes me want to party the night away on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean. The melody, which sounds like it is provided by an acoustic guitar and a bass guitar, also has an island feeling to it; the melody sounds so tropical and it is so uplifting and calming. Once again, MNTRY’S delivery goes so well with the beat and melody of this track. He is so good at adapting to the instrumental matching its energy. On ‘Repeat,’ is saying that he loves everything his woman is doing to him and does not want him to stop. He is asking his woman to make love to him all night long.

In the ever-expanding R&B music scene that is coming out of Milwaukee, MNTRY really sticks out. He has such a fresh and diverse sound, and it seems like he has something for everyone in his repertoire. His new EP, Late To The Party, proves this point. On this project, MNTRY shows off that he can excel at a variety of different kinds of R&B. If you like modern Trap-influenced R&B, he has something for you. If you like mid-2000s R&B, he can do that too. He can even make music with an Afrobeat or Caribbean sound if you are into that stuff. No matter the style of instrumental, his vocal delivery and tone will always be on point and soothing to listen to. Late To The Party shows how talented MNTRY is, and it makes me excited to see what he has in store in the future.