Published on October 29, 2008.

The New Monarchs, for lack of better phrasing, rock my socks off.

Their new album, “Blueprints,” which came out Tuesday, is a wonderful medley of poppy techno, emotional breakdowns and quirky sounds.

“Across your hands,” the album’s opening number, is pure dance party. The song is a bit redundant, but it’s forgivable.

Vocalist Sean Hogan is techno-sounding without being obnoxious about it, with a voice that mixes of robotic and emotional.

“No Commotion,” the second song on the album, sounds a lot like The Postal Service if Ben Gibbard was a little more grungy. There’s something very real about the vocals that urges the listener to pay attention.

“Windows Down” has a similar appeal, with a creepy, intriguing sound.

There are songs on “Blueprints” that are too slow and mellow, which is surprising after the lofty, energetic beginning.

“Off the Record,” for instance, has a nice ambient sound but also induces sleep.

But the album picks right back up with tracks like “Leigh”: Super Radiohead-ish with exciting, momentous buildups.

The band busts out more synthesizer on tracks like “Surprises,” which sounds like Brand New had a love child with Daft Punk.

“Kiss Me at the Gate” is melodious and beautiful but probably should have been saved for last instead of the second to last song.

It just has that conclusive feel to it that the listener can walk away from and feel satisfied.

But album closer “Hold Me Quick (I Can’t Stop)” fits the bill as a good ending song, too. It is more than 11 minutes long, but it’s cute and slightly bouncy.

The instrumental second half of the song drags a bit, but if it’s on as background noise it’ll do just fine.

In all, “Blueprints” is something I’d love to have on anywhere, really.