Five-piece NYC-bred rockers Monobloc released its second EP, Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap, on Friday, April 24.
The four-track love-sick release kicks off with the bustling, noisy “City,” an homage to our home base that instrumentally aligns with the electronic/rock sounds of the contemporary scene. It can fit nicely on a playlist amongst bands like Been Stellar, Croaker, and at times, singer Timothy Waldron’s gravelly howl sounds akin to Cameron Winter’s. According to the band’s Instagram, they rehearsed the track for the first time in Tokyo: “It was rough around the edges and had no formal lyrics, but the riff had a particular spirit.”
Next up, “Stay” would sound oh-so-nice in a big room, with its nicely crafted slow build, mirroring that burning desire for someone to stick around. Sick, atmospheric guitars in this one.
I can’t help but hear influences like The Edge, New Order, and ’80s electric throughout the record, and I really feel it on the third track, “Ravena.” It begins with strums and ends abruptly, and is a glittering calling for love all in between. I looked it up, and Ravena is an Italian name meaning “raven” or “dark-haired,” symbolizing intelligence, mystery, and prophecy. Hot.
To close, “Plums” is another exciting, sound-experimenting play. I dig the galloping drums, heard about halfway. It’s yearning, fearful, yet simultaneously confident. The EP, as a whole, is an important release from the band that I think will resonate today, and when looking back on the music of the 2020s in New York City.
The band is slated to perform tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29, at Sony Hall, as part of the venue’s “All My Friends” series curated by Sony’s booker and local-band lover Griffin Bader. The series invites some of the downtown scene’s best underground bands to play uptown on the renowned Times Square stage. Tomorrow is Volume III, and Monobloc will rock in great company, alongside some of my personal favorite kids around: Beau, Catcher, and D’Lourdes. Tickets are still available.