Mono Ego is the second full-length release for the four man band from Italy, La Mamoynia. This album is a foray into spoken/half-shouted vocals, cold/minimal synths and rough aural textures.

"I Stand Alone", the first track, has a droning background sound, with half-shouted vocals over eerie sounding synths. I might draw similarities with early Nitzer Ebb, mainly due to the singer's vocal style, though in a more subdued way. "Ich bin Niemand", track 2, has a nice 70's style organ sound. One odd note is that this song is sung in English, even though the title is in German.

Even though the band is deemed an Italian band, the singer is Greek, so I guess it's no surprise that four of the tracks are sung in Greek. I appreciate bands singing in their native tongues; there is something that you can appreciate about a song, even if you do not know the language.

Much of the vocals on the album are spoken, but the vocals on "Links" comes closest to being "sung", though it keeps the cold atmosphere that is present on most of the album. The last song, "Something that Does Not Exist (version)", isn't bad, but is too quiet, production-wise, as compared to the rest of the album.

Overall, Mono Ego is an odd mix of 70's/early 80's sounds and half-spoken/half-sung vocals. If you're looking for something different, this is definitely it, but the musically unadventurous many may not find it appealing.