Monobody - Comma (2021)

Monobody is a Chicago quintet making instrumental music at the intersection of post-rock, jazz, and math rock. The band features a number of virtuosic instrumentalists and veterans from Chicago’s DIY, hardcore, and math rock scenes including Al Costis (Bass), Collin Clauson (Keyboards), Conor Mackey (Guitar), Steve Marek (Bass) and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya (Drums). Like their previous releases Monobody (2015) and Raytracing (2018), their third LP Comma is a nearly linear sonic odyssey artfully anchored by a core aesthetic concept—in this case, butterflies. The album’s name and track-titles come from taxonomic butterfly names, and the artwork is an original painting commissioned to capture their vibrant colors and unique patterns. The concept is fitting as words like “color” and “pattern” are much more useful in attempting to describe Monobody’s sound—which doesn’t quite fit into any rigid taxonomic classification. The intense focus on minute detail, virtuosic execution, and rigorous technical construction might veer into scientific territory if the band wasn’t equally as rooted in a humanity that imbues their arrangements with a natural sense of exploration punctuated by organic shifts. The heat of punk rock will naturally dissipate into the effervescence of new age jazz before bottoming out completely into the cosmic background radiation of ambient electronica. For fans of Tortoise, Tera Melos, and Pat Metheny... but, like, if they made an album together.