Soaring out of the underground of New York City’s booming DIY scene, Monobloc, helmed by vocalist Timothy Waldron and Michael Silverglade on bass, is an exciting new project formed by two friends with a shared ear for merging pop sensibilities, with a distinctly metropolispost-punk attitude. Completed by Zack Pockrose on drums, and guitarists Ben Scofield and Nina Lüders, Monobloc are the ascending sound of a generation, and we’re only just at the beginning.
We spoke to Monobloc’s Michael ‘MOP’, Ben and Zack ahead of their Friday 8th of November gig at Manchester’s Deaf Institute – Tickets on sale below!
Hey Monobloc. Thanks for chatting with us. Firstly, how has your 2024 been?
Mop: Best year so far
Ben: Not bad, seen more of the world than I expected to this year so definitely can’t complain.
You haven’t always been Monobloc … originating in a previous outfit with founding members Tim (vocals) and Michael ‘MOP’ (bass); you began to explore your sound before moving onto different things. Several serendipitous-like encounters later, and Monobloc was born with the addition of Ben and Nina (guitar) and Zack (drums). How would you describe these early days?
Mop: As fresh NYC transplants, Tim and I were starting from scratch. We were writing songs in my bedroom with just a laptop and cheap USB interface. We didn’t even have a mic so we borrowed my roommate’s headset that he used for zoom meetings to record vocals for the first few songs. Once we’d had it with that, we split the cost of a brand new SM58 from Guitar Center, but left it at a restaurant that same night by accident, so it was back to the zoom headset.
I moved to NYC a little over two years ago, spending all the time I could honing in on the sound that would become Monobloc. The goal with Monobloc was to write songs as simple as possible, with a concise, authentic, and most importantly new sound. This was mostly through listening to my favorite albums, studying my favorite paintings, etc; trying to distill the things that made them great, then channeling these elements into my own playing. Therefore forming a set of rules which the style exists within.
Zack: I met Nina in 2021 when I was drumming in a weekly comedy show in the KGB Bar. At the time I didn’t even know she played guitar – we became friends because she’d come hang with the band and comedians week after week, late into the night. Nina introduced me to Tim and Mop at our friend’s EP release party in Greenpoint (shoutout Morning Silk), and soon after I heard the Monobloc demos and met Ben. We started practicing for the first year in a tiny rehearsal space I share with a few other musicians. The space can comfortably fit about 3 people, so it was a sweaty first year for the full 5-piece Monobloc. I wouldn’t say our current rehearsal space is all that much bigger, but our stages are – baby steps.
Monobloc have been together for over a year now … how has your music progressed since you all came together? Has much changed since those very first few rehearsal days?
Mop: After Ben, Nina and Zack joined the band, we spent months on end practicing our songs, avoiding writing any new material, until our carefully crafted recordings translated into the live setting. Now everyone in the band has a voice to channel the Monobloc sound from. So far, the new songs we’ve been writing together have come together quite easily, and I think that’s because we’re all finding the same well of inspiration. We’re evolving from a project that was made in my apartment to a band that plays shows worldwide, and I think the new material reflects that too.
Ben: I think the music has stayed relatively within the same world. Writing collectively has been super fun in recent months. There are variations for sure but it’s all good stuff, the kind of things that only come from collaboration since all of us have pretty wide-spanning influences.
‘Irish Goodbye’ – the third single from your forthcoming EP was released in September. Can you share some inspiration behind the track and the visuals for the accompanying music video?
Mop: We were expanding the boundaries of our sound with Irish Goodbye. Inspiration was found in everything from country to disco.
Ben: The late night talk show idea for the video came about pretty early. I knew I wanted to light it a little harder than modern variants of that go, thinking more in terms of Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson to give it a timeless feel. That guitar solo at the end will always be special to me, the take we used in the single is the one I tracked on GarageBand in Mop’s bedroom, so i knew we had to go crazy with that part, hence the strobes and chaos.
We can’t wait to see your debut gig here in Manchester … how are you feeling about bringing Monobloc from NYC to Manchester for the first time? What can audiences expect?
Mop: The most fun we have as a band is when we’re playing live; we’re excited to be in Manchester for the first time and to play some new songs too.
Ben: Manchester has such a rich musical history, so many of our collective favorite bands are included amongst that. We’re really excited to make the pilgrimage. Expect excitement, the likes of which have never been seen. Minds will be expanded, perceptions will be challenged. Worldviews will be altered, never again to be the same.
What will you be taking on the road with you this year for tour? Any essential items you can’t be parted with?
Ben: Liquid IV. It’s a lifesaver.
Mop: Also Liquid IV, and a wrist sweatband for the stage
Thanks for chatting with us Monobloc! What else can we keep our eyes peeled for over the upcoming months?
Mop: More songs and more shows!