Sentimentality Feels Suave in Monobloc’s ‘Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap’
Monobloc’s newest EP Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap is for the city slickers, the sidewalk loiterers, the streetlight sunbathers and pavement pounders. The five-piece band—vocalist Timothy Waldron, bassist Michael Silverglade, drummer Zack Pockrose, and guitarists Nina Lüders and Ben Scofield—wrote and recorded the EP in their hometown of New York City, and the energy of the city is so alive in their sound it feels like a sixth band member. Monobloc captures quintessential NYC grunge with a suave edge, like an Anthora takeaway coffee cup dipped in chrome.
That’s not to say that the band’s reach is limited to the New York scene; they’ve cut their teeth touring internationally, including gigs in the UK, Iceland, Mexico, France, Portugal, and Japan. Although Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap was born in the Big Apple, there are echoes of the band’s exploration of cities abroad that have a universal and relatable appeal no matter where your own hometown is—or how big or small. This EP beckons the listener into Monobloc’s post-punk narrative of late-night escapades and trysts.
The opening track “City” is the perfect soundtrack to accompany a frantic sprint for the train—you’ve just pushed through the turnstile when you feel the rush of hot tunnel air, hear the shrieking of the brakes, and smell the acrid scent of burning rubber—go go go—followed by the relief of slipping through the doors just before they close. “Down in the middle, heart of the city” there’s energetic drumming and punchy riffs grounded by Waldron’s textured timbre. The dense reverb and gritty drops in this track will anchor it as a standout in your library.
Monobloc’s uncanny ability to make sentimentality stylish is on full display in “Stay.” A shimmering, neon-drenched memory is compressed in the amber of retrospect: “We were lying on your kitchen floor, under the roar of the passing cars. We had everything and more, we were on fire.” Like their ubiquitous chair namesake, Monobloc walks the line between form and function in their minimalist songwriting that has a lived-in romance. Even if this track has an air of melancholy, its humming energy is a reminder that the end of one block is the start of another. “Ravena” is classic, understated new wave/post-punk nostalgia with a twist, like if Joy Division were covering The Police. The track’s opening acoustic strumming is speedbag punched out of the way to make room for reverby, luminous guitar riffs that float above tight, cymbal-heavy rhythms and a thick bass line. Like the rest of Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap, this song exalts the introspection and existentialism that only the sunset can bring.
The addictive syrupy, synthy “Plums” evokes a craving for the analog days of car cigarette lighters, headphone wires tangled in pockets, tactile buttons (remember those?), and the swipe of Metrocards (may they rest in peace). A buzzing, bouncy riff is as captivating as a moth bumping against a flickering fluorescent light. In line with the song’s accelerating energy, Waldron’s signature restrained lyrical delivery becomes increasingly frantic. This song was made for a desperate, late-night sprint in a getaway car speeding through empty streets: “Desire’s come to kick me around like a dog waiting for his man / There’s a thief out in the morning come to take me to the edge of the wind.” With this propulsive EP to fuel you, maybe you can catch what you’re chasing before the sunrise.
Experience Love, I’m Gonna Jump the Gap below, and follow Monobloc to see them live.
