That Guy Montag - Mdop, Vol. 1 (review)
Obscure worldly samples, pensive movie dialogue, and golden-age rap flows drive this enigmatic debut album that turns day-to-day musings into profoundly abstract statements. (Originally released July 6, 2020)
Score: 10/10
Most people just consume media, but That Guys Montag’s Richard Mireles integrates it into his psyche and carries it with him. Even the most mundane of on-screen conversations or music (which needs some serious crate-digging to discover) can leave enough of an impression on Mireles to build his songs upon. There are movie and pop culture references, dialogue, and jazzy samples throughout. It’s a collage of gloomy media and brutally honest slice-of-life observations about friendships, cynicism, and meditations on the daily grind.
His rap flows borrow heavily from the classic Brooklyn scene from the likes of Nas and Mos Def, among others. There’s even a bit of Black Thought in his bob-and-weave rhythms. His stern and direct delivery fit neatly over the album’s muffled boom-bap drums and moody nu-jazz backdrops.
In 20 minutes, eleven short songs breeze by and form a suite rather than tracks meant for individual listening. There’s a lack of hooks and choruses. Instead, it’s high on concept, theme, and mood, making the fast and loose structure more cohesive than it normally would be. Only a mind as diligent as Montag’s can pull it off.
In Mr. Orange, Montag introduces himself as an “ominous Jebrone,” who can “blow mics in pieces, leave debris with morbid tones.” He raps about high-class culture before switching to the “rinse, wipe, and repeat” lifestyle. The song is named after the character from the film Reservoir Dogs. As a character who had to psych himself up to go undercover as a thug just to die a slow and painful death, it’s suitable for the theme of living in two worlds while also setting a dark precedent for the album.
A melancholic trumpet melody accompanies Montag in Stoned Souls as he pits spirituality against his desires for materialism. “God knows me well. Enough to see me rock my Gazelles in the depths of hell,” he raps with guilty conviction.
An old-timey plinking piano riff graces Cold Showers as Montag describes his working-class resilience after getting his gas disconnected. Nothing wakes you up like being sprayed with cold water. It helps him get through the hot day, and he still rocks the mic at night.
Montag wants to share the “spice of life” with his homies in Pozole. The instrumental is a sample of Sunny & The Sunliners’ Should I Take You Home. The 60’s Chicano R&B sample is one of many instances of obscure music sources that tastefully help Montag express his musings on. Another example is Sex Sauvage, which lifts from Wilson Simonal’s Escola em Luto. The blissful bossa nova clip gets mixed with a seductive and exotic bass groove. Then on top of that, Montag adds raps that are pitch shifted and stuttered in chopped & screwed fashion. You just can’t get music like this anywhere else.
A notable portion of the album is driven by movie and tv dialogue. It’s mostly from bro movies like Wolf of Wall Street, Swingers, and Reservoir Dogs, but also from Fahrenheit 451 (where Mireles get’s the name of this project from.) It helps establish theme and add atmosphere. The best use of this is in Doc, which samples an episode of Louie in which Louie C.K. attempts to ask a doctor about whether he should continue seeing a woman he’s been dating. “Nobody cares. Just pick a path and go down it, or don’t,” the doctor tells him nihilistically while holding his three-legged dog on a leash. He then implies that happiness is all relative. “You know the only thing happier than a three-legged dog? A four-legged dog.” Behind all the blunt statements and harsh truth is mockingly upbeat and nonchalant music, creating a dark and memorable highlight.
Whether he’s challenging daily routine (“the nine-to-five simulation is bullshit, my friend”) or being cynical of the motivation of others (“fake bitches stay actin in McAllen, with their eyes on the riches, free drinks be what they’re snatchin”) Montag keeps his BS radar up. As abstract and transcendental as the album is, it’s incredibly down to earth and rooted in real experiences. The jazzy instrumentals, the matter-of-fact approach, and obscure moods make this one of the most innovative and powerful albums to immerse yourself in. One of the last raps he delivers is also one of the darkest. "The lines are getting longer, the Dow is getting stronger, and soon my rhymes will be gone like my father,” he declares in Beaches. Let’s hope his rhymes and brilliance are here to stay.
Score: 10/10
Thanks for reading! Purchase or listen to Mdop, Vol. 1 below, or listen on Spotify and Apple Music. Add That Guy Montag on Instagram here.
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