Monarch

“I once felt like dying in my car with you,” vocalist/guitarist Jack Underkofler sings on <b>“Hollywood on Fire”</b>. Propelled by a huge rubbery bassline and a nursery-rhyme cadence, the opening track on <b>Dead Poet Society</b>’s <i>Monarch</i> sets the strange stage for all that follows. The woozy hip-hop groove (and delivery) of <b>“Roach”</b> could easily be mistaken for Die Antwoord. <b>“Sinner Systems”</b> is both bouncy <i>and</i> dark, with lyrical references to pornography, video games and other onscreen distractions before downshifting to an ethereal electronic outro. <b>“Cold”</b> is lurching and sinister, with a soaring chorus that lands somewhere—somehow—between Deftones and Adele. The single <b>“Miami for the Weekend”</b> revolves around a jangly punk guitar and resentment—one of the most conventional songs on an album that excels at defying convention.