Without context, stumbling upon the latest release from Monica Hits The Ground would evoke feelings of fear and mystery. With only a few releases, the elusive Italian producer has established himself as an important name in the underground and his material exists in the realms of bedroom tape industrial, noise and drone. His latest offering, The Backwoods Preacher, is a powerful mini-lp which has found a home on Violet Poison's excellent Veleno Viola label.
Monica Hits The Ground - The Backwoods Preacher (Veleno Viola 004, 2016)
The Backwoods Preacher opens with a noisy invitation to a brutal world. The grinding industrial sounds almost as if you're locked up in a trunk on the way to a remote location. This sets the tone nicely as it's reminiscent of 1980's lo-fi cassettes and its murkiness will continue to pervade the release. Track 2 sees the emergence of shadowy vocals. Echoing through slowed percussion, this is a death march to your final resting place.
Track 3 (perhaps our favorite), slightly picks up the tempo and infuses rhythmic elements to the constant, punishing grind. This is where the suffering really begins and track 4 picks up there with evil vocal arrangements and tension building shrieks. Track 5 closes things out and ventures into more experimental techno with an alarming pace and tortuous, emotional treatment. This is where your journey abruptly ends and you find peacefulness in its final moments of savagery.
Ultimately, The Backwoods Preacher is an expert example of evil industrial noise and barbaric experimental electronics. The mini-lp is available now at Ready Made and other fine record retailers. While we don't know much about this mysterious producer, we actually prefer it that way and will now await his next materialization.
-JRS