Review: The Mon ‘Songs Of Abandon’

The Mon, the acoustic, psych-folk, solo project from Urlo, the primary architect behind Italian heavy, portal-openers Ufomammut, had been floating about my periphery for a bit now. This project came onto my radar – whether via The Sleeping Shaman review cauldron, social media, or Bandcamp, I can’t recall exactly. It had me thinking, ‘I need to check this out,’ but then it got lost in the gray matter of my brain.

I have always been a fan of Urlo‘s work and aesthetic, not just with the colossal, aforementioned Ufomammut. His artistic vision, creativity, and contributions to the long-running Malleus art collective cannot be overstated, to say nothing of his record label Supernatural Cat. He simply seems to be one of those humans who overflow with creativity and self-expression, regardless of medium.

Songs Of Abandon is the first of a two-part Embrace The Abandon vision, with the second part, Songs Of Embrace, allegedly being a darker, instrumental counterpart dropping later in 2026. I was instantly sucked into the record as opener Smiling Dog slowly unfurls, like a lotus blooming on a time-lapse video. A vortex of synth notes, amidst the strange chaos of a long ago, far away human, speaking as if through a distorted 1930’s radio in another dimension. This gives way to an abrupt acoustic strum as we hear Urlo’s voice for the first time, with Two Stones.

He immediately hits us with a fantastic opening line: ‘My best friends are my enemies, I’m alone in a sea made of salt.’ Brilliant. It all flows so smoothly that by the time he kicks it up a notch vocally during the chorus, the listener finds themselves transported into their own cosmic world of sound. The troubles of the day drift away in his acoustic strum, voice, and the effects he so deftly weaves into his music.

Next up is The Hidden Ghost, featuring a darker, more menacing vibe, which, of course, is deftly complemented by Urlo’s spaced-out, melodic vocals, again, providing a fluid musical dichotomy. Hourglass is an awesome, transportive, swirling, psychedelic, weird, earworm of a track that conjures up a cosmic wizard, mediating in the universe, as if sitting in the hourglass, hoping the sands do not run out on him. The vocals really shine here, as he knows when and how to use his voice for maximum impact, and coupled with his guitar playing and use of effects, had me hitting repeat multiple times.

Speaking of hitting ‘repeat’ The Moon & The Devil, put simply, is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve encountered in at least a few years. An all-instrumental track that once again shows his mastery of choosing notes on both his acoustic and synthesizer – conjuring sadness, joy, and wonder over the course of the song. That, to me, has always been the magic of music. Here, the magic is wielded, seemingly effortlessly as he holds the listener’s attention from the first note to the last, taking us on this otherworldly journey with him.

moving the listener through what feels like effortlessly woven sonic alchemy, transporting us through a wormhole of space, time, and emotion…

We switch gears with the aggressive, spaced-out, western psych of Mayhem. Urlo comes off like some vengeful, celestial shaman, drifting on an endless western plane. It’s an epic of sublime proportions, every note, whether by guitar, vocals or synth, hitting like an asteroid. The power he channels throughout the track is palpable. It’s an urgent cut, with plenty of acoustic thrust and mind-warping, swirling synth, that only adds to the immediacy of emotion and attack.

Next is the palette-cleansing beauty of Little Bird. This is a delicate, echo-y affair, wherein the note choices, coupled with his voice and lyrics, are damn near majestic. The Fluorescent Sand, meanwhile, is a soaring, triumphant burst of acoustic and accordion synth weirdness, with the penultimate Beautiful Star being one of the very best songs on an album stacked with them.

Here, again, all that’s needed is voice, lyrics, acoustic guitar, and perfectly placed swirling psychedelic effects that literally wash over the listener. There is a watery feeling to the proceedings, and with headphones on, one can perhaps hear waves hitting the beach, and an ever-so-faint dripping amongst the effects, that parallels to the peerless vocal delivery. The breakdowns are pretty much perfect as every sound land with intent and emotion. We reach the end of this journey with album closer Your Eyes. A mellow acoustic affair that boasts creepy, menacing guitar effects and synth strangeness to bring this Herculean album to its conclusion.

Songs of Abandon is, without a shred of doubt, an outstanding record. It is at times completely transcendent, moving the listener through what feels like effortlessly woven sonic alchemy, transporting us through a wormhole of space, time, and emotion. I initially had audio comparisons to fellow Italian Gabriele Fiori, owner of Heavy Psych Sounds Records, and frontman of The Black Rainbows, who has an acoustic side project, The Pilgrim. I also thought of Monolord guitarist and frontman, Thomas V Jäger’s first solo album A Solitary Plan.

However, upon absorbing the album it was evident that Urlo is operating on a whole different plane, and that’s no disrespect intended to the previously mentioned artists. But this is absolutely epic, universe-bending, far-reaching, ethereal music that belies comparison. Listening with headphones on only empathizes that statement. I was a bit late coming to The Mon, as had I dived in sooner, this would have undoubtedly finished high on my year-end top ten list, despite its late-in-the-year release.

I hesitate to throw around words like ‘masterpiece’ but this is as good an album as I’ve experienced in some time, and the fact that it’s all the execution of one man’s vision and creative abilities is mind-numbing. Enthusiastically recommended.

Label: Supernatural Cat
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Martin Williams