SINGAPORE — Rock band MONSTER CAT have found a perfect balance between taking their music dead seriously and facing the unforgiving music business with tongue firmly in cheek. How else do you explain a consistent insistence that individual members be addressed as Hentai Cat, Psycho Cat and Meta Cat?

Above all, MONSTER CAT possess intelligence that understands the rules of the contemporary pop music game and have an ability to subvert genre norms and market expectations to create a genuinely unique form. Despite recent changes in personnel since the release of their debut EP, Mannequins (2011), MONSTER CAT have not lost sight of their goals. “To create songs that push boundaries and which stir people’s emotions, minds and hopefully, souls,” the band said in an email interview, although it is fair to say that this reorganisation had an impact on the band.

“It certainly has. Everyone in MONSTER CAT contributes significantly to the songwriting process. But like in any collaborative project, we have to adapt with the changes. Working mainly as a three-man group for this album meant that as a team, we learnt how to communicate better and make music together.”

These new challenges resulted in the happy consequence of producing the new album, The Violet Hour, a very strong multi-layered album that shows how much the band have grown.

“We are moving ahead with a lot more confidence in what we are capable of and what we want to achieve, and that kind of confidence often translates into taking more creative risks,” said MONSTER CAT. “For example, Hentai Cat has moved away from his reliance on the acoustic guitar as a songwriting tool and as an instrument, and decisions like that free up a lot of possibilities when putting a track together.

“Psycho Cat takes on lead vocal duties on some songs and that adds a new dynamic to the creative process.”

The Violet Hour was recorded in Sydney and the group worked with producer Tim Carr (Matt Corby, Julia Stone, Flea) because he understood what they were trying to achieve, said the band. “He ... was really able to bring out the best in us. Tim helped us put all our ideas together in a way in which all the different elements spoke to one another.”

The band said the change of location aided the creative process as well. “Holing up in Sydney was a great way to concentrate on the music. Physical environments change your perceptions, mindsets and attitudes, and Studios 301 in Sydney was the perfect place for us to channel our energies in a fresh yet focused way.”

Two specific tracks on the album — Tower and Cradle — showcase the band’s aspirations in bending genre conventions. “We want to make music that stirs people’s emotions and minds and is thought-provoking,” they said. “At the same time, we were very conscious of the hooks in our songs, both melodic and rhythmic ones, and it was a very important experiment for us to include the most catchy of hooks in the most challenging of songs.”

To promote the album, MONSTER CAT will be touring in China this month, after opening for British band Foals in Kuala Lumpur, but will be back in Singapore for a special show on April 11. “The official Singapore launch performance will have us playing all 13 tracks in our new album and there will be some exciting collaborations with guest musicians and visual artists. Also, there may or may not be a confetti shower of cuddly kittens raining down at the end of the show.”

We’re not sure how the SPCA would react to that, but musically, it ought to be the cat’s pyjamas. KEVIN MATHEWS

MONSTER CAT’s The Violet Hour is available now at music stores and digital platforms.