Mondo Generator
A Drug Problem That Never Existed

Following the beautiful review by damaskinos on the Eagles of Death Metal, I thought of continuing with the series of "side projects" of the former desert queens, dedicating space to the latest "effort" of Mondo Generator, aka Mr. Nick Oliveri: "A Drug Problem That Never Existed".

From the title, we immediately understand the ironic and playful spirit of our bassist who loves excesses. This is an instinctive, direct album, talking about events that have profoundly marked Nick's soul, from the marriage that ended in bitter divorce ("F.Y.I'm free"), to the death of his beloved Papa Joe ("Detroit"), to the discovery of a new chemical stimulant more suitable to his needs ("Meth I Hear You Calling", the first track of the album); and he tells us about all of them just as they come to his mind. Oliveri also tries to meditate on his death in "Day I Die", inviting his followers to party, copulate on his grave, and generally "lose their minds" in memory of a poor devil, without any particular prestige (except for being crazy as a horse), who somehow managed to live the dream he believed in.

"ADPTNE" is undoubtedly more "melodic" than the previous "Cocaine Rodeo"; although it always closely follows his muses of inspiration, sometimes self-referencing, paying homage to Turbonegro, Dwarves etc. (and here the list is too long), it finds space to insert two ballads (one of which is sung by his friend Mark Lanegan), which suggest an attempt at depth within the party-like and carefree attitude that hovers over the entire album. The tracks are easy, with more than a hint of punk, slightly banal yet amusing, but fundamentally unoriginal, even if characterized by a need to express oneself and return to the roots, detaching from the commercial machine created by QOTSA.

What should have been the whim of a more or less established musician, could now become his main means of livelihood, and with these premises, the writer has many doubts about it. In fact, what might seem amusing and almost make sense as a "whim" does not find the same response if placed in a more serious musical context. Now we can only wait and see what will happen in the post-QOTSA...

Postscript that should have been a premise: I only heard the "demo" many months ago, and I had the chance to listen to the finished CD only once, so forgive any possible inaccuracies.