We are almost at the very end of 2022 and while AOTY and Best Of… lists start flourishing like mushrooms in autumn. However, I have decided to break my six-years streak and this December I won’t be posting such compilation for a number of reasons that no one will probably care about: for the first, I have not been paying much attention to new releases as barely any of them seem interesting lately. For the second, though unrelated, I have spent the little spare time I have nowadays listening to far too many political podcasts.  A proper full year review would take time and there is no minute to be wasted if the material is not remarkable. Instead, I will only review albums I have bought because in my opinion had higher standards and therefore writing about them is worth the effort.

In this case I would like to talk about an album I got as a gift from the band itself – dumbass of me was not even agile enough to invite the musicians for a beer in appreciation – Mona Turbo Lisa, from Narrenwind.

Narrenwind is a duo coming originally from Poland, whose members are currently divided between Polish and Norwegian lands and have chosen this a catchy name for their last work, Mona Turbo Lisa. The band has been quite active since their inception in 2018, releasing four full lengths and three Eps, including the one reviewed here. Quite a baggage that makes me feel I’m arriving late to such interesting party, assuming records such as Mona Turbo Lisa are not made out of the blue without going through an evolutionary journey as band and musicians.

This EP lays in the perfect balance of timing for a quick listening but comes with a long digestion period. So much going on for just four tracks and mere 20 mins of runtime, beginning with a homonym opening track, a window to an emerging dark realm. I find two main ingredients making this EP a really joyful listening experience: bass and voice. The duality of a very immense bass while the vocals hover reciting with the rough sound of polish language makes a unique combination. The bass carries a big load trough the songs, laying the base for a surrounding atmospheric vibe; darkish vibe amplified by the synth work that could actually work by itself as a dark ambient soundtrack. The voice adds an extra layer by singing in a soft, whispering-esque fashion with the harsh sounding alien language that is polish works as a countermeasure.

I can picture this release on the same shelf as any Gilead Media or Flenser release with a vanguardist approach. In particular, early and middle Mamaleek, Oransi Pazuzu or Circle Of Ouroborus crossed with the trendy 80’s worshiping Belarusian post-punk scene. I feel the tagging game for Mona Turbo Lisa is an intrepid task, it doesn’t feel right, there is no label yet where Narrenwind fits, and that’s exactly what makes this music so great and unique. At this point, I think Narrewind either moves on a genre I have yet to discover or they transcended from black metal orthodoxy and are now creating their own style. I choose to believe the second option.

Highly recommended EP, an approach with an open mind is required and now I have their interesting discography ahead of me ready to be discovered. Meanwhile, you can buy the CD, which comes edited on digipack with a beautiful layout and a set of excellent photography work.

Mona Turbo Lisa ranks 7 out of 10