Monograms, the project of New York City artist Ian Jacobs, has dropped new new EP SHAPES.The album nonchalantly strides into the indie-clubs. This record draws inspiration from the brittle, warehouse dance music from the Madchester era (Happy Mondays/ New Order) and combining it with NYC indie projects, including LCD Soundsystem and TV on the Radio. Talking about the new EP, Jacobs states; “The thread that holds this entire EP together is that it’s a love letter to the outside world of just where I’m at right now. Music is really one of the only things that makes sense in this upside down crazy world, so I try to use it as less of a mirror and more of a diary.”

He goes on to comment; “The new Monograms SHAPES EP is an amalgamation of songs I put together over the last few years, as I stretched my life into a place that felt more comfortable and less angsty. From my vantage point, this collection of songs just exists as what it is. I played every instrument and word on the EP so even though a lot of the songs came from slightly different timelines… I was able to create a singular voice and structure to things. The songs sonically lean into earlier iterations of the band, playing more real drum kits and a bit less drum machines, but still aiming to retain some of that ‘Nuke-Wave’ sound that I’ve built Monograms around over the years.”

Rarely sitting still creatively, Jacobs has once again manufactured a pulsating set of tracks that seemingly lurks between the warehouses peppering the New York skyline. He continues; “Sonically I also wanted to wrap it all in the backdrop of a dystopian present. I tried to go after sounds and arrangements that were beautifully damaged. I feel like we’re living in a very strange time in history. Although I love my inner circle and find comfort in friends, family, art, creativity…. I have a growing and intense disillusionment and disappointment with the outside world right now and I wanted some of the soundscapes to reflect that.”

Pointillism lyrics, lucid beats and angular melodies create a driving backdrop for what has been coined as “Nuke-Wave”. Since the project’s conception, Monograms has supported Cloud Nothings, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ezra Furman, Sunflower Bean, Man or Astro-Man?, A Place To Bury Strangers, Girl Band, Gøggs, New Candys, Juan Waters, DMA’s Buscabulla and more.

Order Shapes by Monograms HERE