Q&A: Monobloc Talks Taking Over the Internet With Debut Single “I’m Just Trying To Love You”
A ROCK BAND THAT FINDS THEMSELVES UP AGAINST A NEW SONIC QUEST — Monobloc is facing the question, “How do you make a timeless guitar band the biggest thing on the internet?” While there is no straight answer, Monobloc is certainly up to the challenge with the premiere of their debut single, “I’m Just Trying To Love You.” The New York City outlet, led by singer and guitarist Timothy Waldron and bassist Michael Silverglade (aka Mop), are no strangers to writing indie-rock earworms. But it’s not so simple to put this band in the “indie sleaze revival” box and call it a day.
Shortly after establishing and playing together in their previous band, Courier Club, Tim and Mop found themselves thrown into digital life during the height of the pandemic. It was here that they flexed their creative internet skills by hosting an online music festival, Block by Blockwest, on Minecraft. They were unsure if they’d ever make music together again. But the two found their way back to creating once more and moved to New York to make it happen.
Our first taste of this refreshing sound comes in the form of their debut single and music video, “I’m Just Trying To Love You.” It’s in this track that their precise live energy — which you can catch at venues around the city — bleeds through. The song offers a concise and driving guitar lick accompanied by swirling string lines and bass. The music video showcases a balanced aesthetic that the band has been quietly perfecting on social media throughout the year. Every member is well put together, with their distinct styles shining through. The video cuts between clean digital shots and gritty analog frames, capturing how they truly shine when playing all together live.
Monobloc is searching for a way to create music that is bold and timeless and are quickly making themselves a staple in the ever-evolving NYC scene. Luna sat down with founding members of the band, Tim and Mop, to talk about their first track, internet lore, and what’s to come in 2024. Read the interview below.
LUNA: Congrats on releasing your debut single, “I’m Just Trying To Love You.” How are you feeling about putting your first track and music video out there?
MONOBLOC: Like a 56-year-old gambler with two college funds in the hole making his final bet.
We're feeling excited.
LUNA: Founding members of Monobloc have been in some other bands together in the past. How long have you been making music together? Do you have any distinct memories in which you realized you’d be in groups for the long run?
TIM: Mop almost got away. He left me when I was [in] too deep working for seedy crypto bros to pay the rent. I promised him I would meet him in NYC in three months or he could start a new band without me. We made it out!
MOP: 2018 began a journey of musical highs and lows. By 2021, I had no idea if we’d ever play in a band together again, but thankfully Tim came through and here we are. I’m glad he chose music over pixelated monkey images on the internet.
LUNA: Internet culture plays a large part in the identity you’re creating as a group. From creating past events like Bloc by Blockwest to consistently using niche memes in your social media presence, what is it about current internet culture that you identify with as a group? Do you feel it’s the necessary move to try to connect to modern audiences as a new rock band?
MONOBLOC: There seems to be two camps when it comes to behaving in the online space. The first being trying to replicate something from the past and being very retro pilled about it all. You are not the second coming of Mick Jagger. I hate to inform you. The Elvis clones are the fucking worst. Expect a lot of those in the coming year.
The latter [is] being so chronically online that it becomes a micro echo chamber of a fast dying trend. There's value in dancing between both and showing that you are constantly mining the past and future for things that are “timeless.”
LUNA: What’s the writing process like for Monobloc? Does everyone in the group tend to collaborate, or is it a more singular exercise?
MONOBLOC: It’s very much a collaboration. It feels like a beautiful game of hot potato or a sculptor chipping away at his first block of marble, slowly seeing a vision come to life the more he chisels away.
LUNA: Are there any other inspirations or bands you draw from?
MONOBLOC: Key inspirations: minimalism in regards to music (not the Steve Jobs roleplay stuff), nature, cowboys, dark fantasy, the rush of gambling and not the aftermath, factory records, virtual worlds, the audacity of microtransactions, those brands that sponsor every fucking YouTube video, “Wichita Lineman” by Glen Campbell, Eastern Europe (not the conflict, don’t worry), Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich.
Also Christopher Moltisanti TikTok edits, Rembrandt, Lou Reed's last tweet, the fine line between appreciating a Rothko painting and understanding [that he] found the easy hack, being triggered by the Discord message sound, SR71 Blackbird Sans military-industrial complex (it had no guns, which is based), quality time with your friends.
LUNA: You’ve been playing live shows in NYC for the past year. What is your favorite venue to play in the city right now, and what is a bucket list venue?
MOP: We’ve only just started to have a taste of the venues NYC has to offer, but so far we’ve been pleasantly surprised by Nublu, where we played our first show. The sound and ambiance are both great, and it feels underutilized by bands in our sphere.
TIM: Dream venue… The bigger the better — like I said earlier, we’re in a bit of debt. Gotta get those tickets up!
LUNA: You’ve been making music in several places throughout the years. Do you feel that creating and playing music in different cities affects what you’re creating?
MONOBLOC: The switch-up of contemporaries can definitely affect your creative muscle when you enter a new city. There's a ton of excitement in the new. However, I feel like you always come back to your own personal taste after the rose tinted goggles lose their power.
LUNA: “I’m Just Trying To Love You” is the first single off an upcoming EP. What can we expect to see from Monobloc this year leading up to that full project?
MONOBLOC: Waterfall release of the entire debut EP. Gotta keep the industry folks happy and the attention spans in check.
LUNA: If you could wake up one day and be an expert at anything not music related, what would it be?
TIM: Certified expert in world peace.
MOP: Race car driver.
