MONTI – EP REVIEW


Monti – This Is You EP 
Monti - This Is You EP

Release Date: Out Now

Monti is the musical vehicle for LA based Lauren Silva and, judging by this EP, it’s a vehicle set to take her on a long journey. Proceedings get underway on ‘Coward’s Castle’ which is a plea for someone to come out of their shell set to the kind of uplifting, up-tempo ballad that we would normally expect from Pink. ‘Echo’ slows things down initially before the chorus of “we are, we are, we are the voiceless, we are, we are, we are the restless, we are, we are, we are our choices” rings out like a call to arms that could easily be the anthem for a younger generation that feels bitterly ignored even though it’s there future being destroyed.

There is a commercial, polished feel to Monti’s work which I entirely mean as a compliment in this context so it’s no surprise that her music has been featured on TV and that she’s worked with some big time writers in her time. In that vein, ‘Shadow’ is my favourite on this album as it sounds like the kind of track Christina Aguilera would enjoy belting out with a full backing band, horn section and some lush organs cutting through the bittersweet lyrics and superb vocal delivery. On ‘Hurt’ Monti moves in to a more ambient space with driving, dubby beats and subdued melodies giving the vocals space to roam.

The EP closes out on ‘Super Hero’, a track with an almost tribal triumphalism that rings out loud and clear in to the night sky. Monti is not a conventional pop star in the making with subject matter that has depth and arrangements that catch you off guard so if you’re bored of the mainstream then I might just have found you a gateway drug into a different world.