Q&A: Monobloc is bringing Metropolis Post-Punk to the Sony Hall Stage
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
BEFORE THEY EVER UPLOADED A SINGLE TO A STREAMING PLATFORM, Monobloc spent a year in the trenches of the New York City DIY scene. That "live-first" philosophy transformed the five-piece into a precision-engineered unit, one that prioritizes the visceral energy of a packed room over the polished safety of a bedroom studio. Often categorized as "metropolis post-punk," their sound captures the specific, late-night tension of a 2:00 AM walk through Bushwick: sharp, rhythmic, and undeniably cinematic.
After a whirlwind run on massive international festival stages like Corona Capital and All Points East, Monobloc is returning to the city that sharpened their edges. For them, the shift from amorphous festival crowds to the familiar faces of a NYC club isn't just a change in scale; it’s a return to the "sweaty rooms" where they first found their voice. With a new EP, Love I’m Gonna Jump The Gap, on the horizon and work beginning on their debut album, the band is operating with a newfound intensity and a stoicism that lets the music do the heavy lifting.
We caught up with the band to talk about the influence of 80s superstars, the thrill of playing new tracks like "City," and what happens when the preparation of the last few years finally begins to pay off. Catch Monobloc at Sony Hall on April 29th for All My Friends Vol. III, alongside Beau, Catcher, D’Lourdes, and Mer Marcum, hosted by The Luna Collective and Bands Do BK.
LUNA: You spent a full year playing shows in NYC before ever releasing a single. How did that "live-first" approach help you find your voice as a five-piece before the rest of the world got to hear the recordings?
MONOBLOC: I think it emphasized that the project is a live band that was hungry to hit the road and tour. We didn’t just want to be seen as some guys making songs in a bedroom. It also helped everyone in the band get really tight playing together before we had any big shows.
LUNA: Your sound is often called "metropolis post-punk." If you had to soundtrack a walk through one specific NYC neighborhood at 2:00 AM, which one would it be?
MONOBLOC: We’ve spent a lot of time walking through Bushwick and Ridgewood at those hours. As for the soundtrack, most likely “Only a Shadow” or “Corridor of Dreams” by the Cleaners From Venus. Or 2Hollis.
LUNA: You’ve mentioned being influenced by everything from Steve Reich to 80s superstars. Is there a "secret" influence in your music that fans might not expect to hear?
MONOBLOC: Well, if we told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it? We’ve got some stuff up our sleeves that we think will be more evident on the upcoming EP. We all listen to a pretty broad variety of artists and genres.
LUNA: You’ve played some massive international stages recently, like Corona Capital and All Points East. What’s the biggest difference between playing a massive festival in Mexico City and a packed, sweaty room in New York?
MONOBLOC: In a way, playing bigger stages has made playing clubs in New York more fun. At festivals, you look out to the audience and see this amorphous throng of people once you look past the first couple of rows, whereas here you look out and see familiar faces and can have fun locking eyes with friends and fans we recognize from past shows.
LUNA: You guys have a reputation for a stoic stage presence. Is that a conscious choice to let the music do the talking, or just a natural byproduct of the music’s intensity?
MONOBLOC: It’s not necessarily a conscious choice; I think it's just a reflection of who we all are as people. There are times we all let loose and times we’re just trying to nail our parts and lock in.
LUNA: For this upcoming NYC show, what track are you most looking forward to playing live?
MONOBLOC: We had a crazy stroke of luck and got to tour our first EP pretty extensively, but that said, we were playing every single song we had at the time, night after night. The new songs from our upcoming release, Love I’m Gonna Jump The Gap, are definitely the most exciting to play live—especially “City”, “Plums”, and “Ravena”. The response to those has been great when we’ve played them in other cities, even if they weren’t out yet at the time.
LUNA: What intentions do you have for the upcoming season?
MONOBLOC: We’re finally writing our debut album. It’s taken us a while to get to the point of being ready to do so, but it feels like all the preparation is about to pay off.
