After the incredible success of Old Town Road and its many remixes, it was unclear if Lil Nas X would be able to prove himself as an artist who wasn’t just a one hit wonder. However, now that his debut album MONTERO is out, audiences don’t have to question this anymore. 

The way that he is able to weave between triumphant tracks about his success in the industry and melancholic ballads where he ponders his race, sexuality and mental health shows a great amount of skill from the singer-rapper. 

In songs like SUN GOES DOWN and VOID, Lil Nas X shows that he has a lot of promise as a writer with some really emotional lines. 

It’s clear that a lot of work was put into making the album sound up to par with other pop music. Everything from the production, to the vocals sound very polished.

There is clearly a lot of praise to give this album, especially given that it’s his full-length debut. He definitely shows that he is a capable artist, but there is still a lot of room left for him to grow and innovate. 

A lot of what’s here is very clean, radio-friendly pop music, with elements of rap and early-2010’s-style emo rock thrown into the mix here and there. This isn’t inherently bad, but it’s bland and leaves a lot to be desired, especially given the amount of potential he shows here.

MONTERO is very comparable to Post Malone’s most recent album Hollywood’s Bleeding. It’s trying to be alternative, but it’s trying so hard that it just comes off as robotic a lot of the time. 

Lil Nas X has shaken his reputation as the “Old Town Road guy.” However, now that he has proven that he has staying power in the music industry, we have to ask a new question: how long can he keep it up?