North-West London RnB singer-songwriter Mnelia, surprised fans with the release of 4 tracks in her new ‘After 6’ EP. This follows on from her explosive success at the beginning of the year. Having received mainstream notoriety with her 90’s throwback jam ‘Say Yeah’, this project returns to a sound more aligned with her debut EP ‘2:4’. After 6 is short and sweet including songs that place listeners into her psych, affectively. She displays a personality layered between her identities as a care-free woman and a loving mother.
Introducing us to the project is ‘On and On’, a rhythmic banger produced by long-term sound engineer StevieBBeatz. A mellow instrumental that implores you to chill out and nod your head in equal measures. This is a feel good anthem at heart, compelling you to let loose and move. Perhaps dressed up in a moody exterior, this track reminisces about dance floor moments where Mnelia is at her happiest or most real. The track promotes feel-good vibes with a motivating chorus repeating “move on and on and on”.
Mnelia follows this up with a spacey and more somber beat, produced curtesy of N2theA. ‘Back to You’ is a wholly reflective track about past relationships and regrets that she carries with her. Unquestionably, the focal point of the track, Mnelia’s vocals in the chorus carry a heavy weight of emotion. They overlap in a pleasing synthetic pattern as you move towards the hook and complement her strong vocal performance. Influence from the likes of Jhene Aiko and Kehlani can be heard with a similar overall sound that the former pushed in ‘Sail out’.
At the midpoint of the EP we are given the stand-out single, ‘Shoot’. This is a hypnotic female anthem that juxtaposes her more aggressive side with her RnB sensibilities. East-London producer StevieBBeatz delivers a potential club-banger infusing the wiry repetition of the violin with hard bass kicks that provide a uniquely sinister undertone. This track explores the savage side of love and gives listeners an unstable glimpse into the mind frame of someone that is hurt and not afraid to react physically. “Who the fuck you cheatin’ on?” and “I got a thing for bringing gangsters to their knees” are some of the most direct addresses we’ve heard from Mnelia to date and this is definitely exploratory of a different persona than we hear on ‘Say Yeah’. Her biggest win with this record was the ability to produce something like her earlier hit, is extremely catchy and is guaranteed streams. Accompanying is a red-tinted, lustful music video directed by Terry Paul. The visuals are a good addition to the track which portrays a very literal representation of the lyrics.
‘Ro’s Lullaby’ is a heartfelt message to what can be assumed is Mnelia’s child, and the final quarter of her identity represented. This track delivers what you’d expect from the title, a heartfelt message where she promises to give everything to ensure that her child feels her love. The instrumental, once again covered by StevieBBeatz, is a dance-infused, up tempo and melodic. In the final quarter of the track, Mnelia uses a personal clip that shows a loving moment between herself and the child. A nice human touch that wraps up the project with a moment of innocence and a glimpse at someone that is family-focused first.
Songstress Mnelia continues to champion a 90’s sound that has been vastly forgotten about over the past 10-years in the UK. This project also invites her fans in a little closer to her own personality. It isn’t long enough though, to satisfy a fairly underground following that will have been teased with this release and left desperate for a debut album, from the North-West Londoner. Both Mnelia and the production team did a great job with this album, the challenge now will be to come with consistency in 2021.
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