Watch This: Rare Monk - "Underground"

Oregon indie-rock band Rare Monk strikes a careful balance between icy detachment and swelling sentimentality, and "Underground," the first single off of its first (and fantastic) LP, Sleep/Attack, plays wonderfully with it. The track may be built on a cagey beat and some heavily synthesized vocals, but the meat of the track is the tangled explosion of strings and drums that illustrate the consequences of, as the chorus goes, waiting 'till your emotions burst out. The video goes even further with this dichotomy, cutting from shots establishing an uneasy serenity to short, powerful bursts of vicious carnage in the choruses. Unsettling implications arise when the protagonist reaches his breaking point and begins to spill blood, as the muted colors of the video suddenly give way to vivid reds and faded golds--and the moon makes way for a sunrise. Waking up in this nightmare world may be ill-advised, but those who can make their way out of the dirt just might find something--or somebody--worth coming back to life for.

Rare Monk's debut is available everywhere now.