Monarch
Monarch makes a strong case for keeping some ugliness in modern rock. Dead Poet Society build their third album around heavy grooves, uneasy guitar tones and a voice that can sound as fragile as the music is forceful. The band's fretless guitar remains a useful part of that identity, giving familiar rock shapes an unstable quality. There are big melodies here, but they rarely arrive without something pulling against them.
Hollywood On Fire makes that tension clear from the start. The opening textures establish a strange atmosphere before the band pushes forward. Roach gives the rhythm a more insistent role, letting a relatively direct idea become threatening through its sound and delivery. These songs do not need constant speed to create energy. The weight comes from the space between the parts and the sense that they could slip out of alignment.
Jack Underkofler is central to that effect. His singing does not simply sit above the riffs as a confident lead. It can sound caught within them, especially when the production adds distance or distortion. Lost gives him more room and provides a useful change of pace. Cold shows how the band can keep an accessible chorus without removing the discomfort around it, while The Art Of Suffering closes on atmosphere rather than a final show of force.
There are limits to how far this approach travels. The darker sound and deliberate pacing can feel oppressive across a full album, and anyone looking for a quick run of clean rock anthems may find it tiring. The band's unusual textures are more important here than variety in tempo.
Still, Monarch turns those choices into a coherent identity. It is heavy, emotionally exposed and willing to leave a little dirt in the machinery. For listeners who want the hooks of alternative rock with a less predictable surface, Dead Poet Society offer a convincing and distinctive next step.
