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# Monolith Pleasure Cult defies conventional genre norms on the ambitious Mountain EP
- URL: https://www.emptyspaces.co.nz/monolith-pleasure-cult-defies-conventional-genre-norms-on-the-ambitious-mountain-ep/
- Published: 2026-09-24T20:35:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T20:35:28.000Z
- Author: Nick Raven
- Tags: Music

Monolith Pleasure Cult may not yet be household name. But the project has a history that really stands out. Previously releasing music as Sal Valentine, the artist also had stint as drummer for iconic NZ group The Beths. With a track record of this calibre, the music carries a level of expectation. A fresh EP has just dropped, and it does not disappoint.

Self proclaimed as sad industrial disco-funk. The songs on this release are shrouded in expressive synth heavy sounds, funky bass lines and slick beats that move to their own groove. For a familiarising comparison you could say the vibe falls somewhere between a funky Toro y Moi, the gravitas and omph of Depeche Mode, and the melodic pop qualities of someone like TLC. Quite a sound indeed.

One track that really stands out is the reflective and forward 'Something Awful'. For brief moment there is subtle interplay with 2000s pop hit You Gotta Be performed by Des're. '*You better be tough, you better be strong, you better get a lawyer, you better be ready cos I've got something awful for ya'* \- it builds to an infectious chorus enveloped with hooks that you simply cannot ignore. Wrapped up with 80s funk bass stabs and smooth jazz keys, [Monolith Pleasure Cult](https://www.emptyspaces.co.nz/monolith-pleasure-cult-sink-deeper-into-a-fevered-sweat-lit-dream/) has an ability to defy genres, and this is front and centre on this dynamic song.

The entire body of work, suitably named *The Mountain EP*, has a larger than life personality that exists in its own lane. If there’s an audience for music this ambitious and unconventional, Monolith Pleasure Cult could earn the recognition this work deserves.

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