In their new single ‘N.P.C.,’ Monico issues an anthem for real connection in a simulated world.
In the flickering glow of a thousand screens, a dangerous idea has taken root, that the people around us are nothing more than background characters, non-playable entities in the grand simulation of our own lives.
Sydney’s Monico, the project of singer-songwriter Isaac Monico Atienzo, has just released a musical rebuttal to this cold philosophy.
With his newly formed trio, he drops ‘Everyone we know is an N.P.C.,’ a folk rock tune that feels less like a simple song and more like a heartfelt plea for human recognition in an increasingly digital world.
Monico is no stranger to carving out space for authentic emotion.
A young veteran of the Sydney scene, he started with just a voice and a guitar on the city’s streets, his sound echoing the soulful depth of Hozier and the melodic warmth of Ed Sheeran.
After years as a compelling solo act, 2025 saw him join forces with his cousin Lachlan Dawson on drums and friend Ben Garrigo on bass.
This new trio, fresh from cutting their teeth at open mics and the Tamworth Country Music Festival, brings a raw, united energy to his music.
The band are building a shared sound, a foundation of rhythm and resonance that makes their protest feel communal, not solitary. That protest is the core of this new single.
Written in the classic vein of songs that challenge the status quo, ‘N.P.C.’ takes aim at a very modern target.
It confronts the algorithmic whispers and online subcultures that encourage young people, particularly young men, to view their peers as mere NPCs, empty shells in a video game.
Monico’s lyrics push back against this dehumanising logic, questioning what we lose when we trade empathy for a cynical, self-centred worldview.
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The music drives the point home with urgent acoustic strums and a vocal delivery that is both weary and unwavering, a call to attention for a generation navigating a maze of digital noise.
With this release, Monico and his trio plant a flag for genuine connection.
It is an invitation to look up from the phone, to see the complex story in every face, and to remember that in a world desperate to make us feel like avatars, our humanity is the most radical choice we can make.
This song is that choice, set to music.
