Progressive R&B singer-songwriter Montell Fish has released his new album, Charlotte, via Virgin Music Group.
The genre-bending artist worked closely with Jacob Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra to produce the 10-track album.
Speaking Charlotte he tells Rated R&B, it’s “the second chapter of the JCM Trilogy, the chaos after peace.” He adds, “My goal was to make an art piece inspired by Theological Ideas through the lens of a breakup with a slight to psychological concepts for answers.”
On Charlotte, Montell is caught in a web of grief as he grapples with an ebbing love. He opens the album with “Amor,” where he pleads, “I don’t want you to leave me (Amor),” over a mellow acoustic guitar and delicate piano.
On the synth-heavy “Scream My Name,” Montell notices his partner’s changed behavior in the bedroom. “You haven’t screamed my name in a while / Tell me, baby / Are you crazy for me?” he sings.
The Prince-coded “Is It a Crime?” examines lingering feelings from a past love that he can’t seem to shake off. “Is it a crime / ‘Cause I still think about you sometimes,” he admits.
Regarding the song, Montell explained, “‘Is It a Crime?’ is a song I’ve been working on for a couple years. Psychologically, it kind of points to being in a state of constant Stockholm syndrome, wondering why I keep falling in love with and protecting someone who keeps hurting me.”
He added, “Theologically, it points to my own battles with religion. Sometimes, when I think about it, I appreciate the child-like ignorance I had back then. Scriptures like “love your enemies, bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you…” they left me so confused because I tried to love a ghost. They left me loving a manipulator.”
Charlotte is the sequel to Jamie (2022) and the prequel to Marshall. Montell previously stated Jamie “is about the beginning stages of grief because I went through this album, and even still think about when I’m gonna die––is it gonna be when I’m young, today, tomorrow? So there is this anxious feeling in a lot of the music and a terror of the end and it’s symbolized in a breakup, it’s symbolized in me and this girl and things coming to an end but I just realized as I was writing it that this is so much more. This is my childhood and I always had a fear of death and a religious trauma of me going to hell––it’s the beginning of the stages of that. It’s denial in isolation.”
After releasing his debut album in July 2022, Montell returned that October with his EP Her Love Still Haunts Me Like a Ghost, which he described as a transitional project. “It’s essentially a sequel to Jamie and a prequel to my next albums, Charlotte and Marshall,” Montell explained.
He added, “All three albums are loosely tied to the theme of grief and the emotions felt throughout the grieving process. Jamie was centered around denial and isolation, whereas Charlotte is more about anger, so the new EP is kind of a bridge between those emotions.”
Montell is currently on the North American leg of the Charlotte Tour. He has upcoming stops in Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, Salt Lake City and Denver. The first leg concludes Oct. 27 at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh.
On Dec. 9, he will launch the European leg at Carlswerk Victoria in Cologne, Germany. The tour wraps up Dec. 21 at 02 Forum Kentish Town in London.
Stream Montell Fish’s Charlotte album and check out his tour dates below.
Montell Fish’s Charlotte Tour Dates
Oct 5 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Oct 6 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore Ballroom
Oct 8 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre
Oct 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex – The Grand
Oct 13 – Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Oct 15 – Chicago, IL @House of Blues
Oct 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Oct 19 – Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew’s Hall
Oct 21 – Toronto, ON @ The Danforth Music Hall
Oct 24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Oct 27 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Dec 9 – Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
Dec 11 – Berlin, Germany @ Uber Eats Music Hall
Dec 12 – Hamburg, Germany @ Docks
Dec 13 – Brussels, Belgium @ La Madeleine *sold out!
Dec 16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg *sold out!
Dec 17 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
Dec 18 – Paris, France @ Salle Pleyel
Dec 20 – London, UK @ 02 Forum Kentish Town
Dec 21 – London, UK @ 02 Forum Kentish Town *sold out!
Get tickets at msconsciousness.com.
