Jack Underkofler (617 views)

[BassSquared]

Jack Underkofler (20 February 1993 - )
Associated Acts: Dead Poet Society (2013 - present)
Vocal Range: G2 - B♭5

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Summary}Over the course of Dead Poet Society's decade-long evolution from scrappy hard rock upstarts to their present incarnation as an increasingly big deal in the scene, frontman Jack Underkofler has led them every step of the way. A naturally high tenor, he started out with a yelpy, affected tone that called to mind Jack White doing his best Myles Kennedy impression. However, he quickly moved past this approach, developing a keen understanding of dynamics and sharpening his upper range to a viciously keen point, to where a better comparison would be a harder-edged version of Jeff Buckley. While his strongest asset vocally is easily his powerful high belt that matches the intensity of the riffs behind him, he also knows how to switch it up, agilely switching into passages of falsetto or sudden drops in volume. He is also more than capable of carrying DPS's softer moments, howling out immense vocal climaxes and pushing his falsetto to a keening, haunting tone whose sheer emotionality is undeniable. Of course, due to his high placement his lower register is somewhat underwhelming, particularly in lead vocal passages, but he still manages to wring a good bit of contrast out of soft, mid-third-octave singing. And despite his penchant for adding more layers and effects to his voice in recent material, he still pulls the songs off quite well live, difficult though some of them may be. One of the strongest singers in the modern hard rock scene; he and his band deserve every bit of the buzz they get.
Written by BassSquared.

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{Album Ranges}Axiom (2015): B♭2 - G5
Dempsey (2016): D3 - E5
-!- (2021): G2 - A5
FISSION (2024): G2 - B♭5

Significant High Notes:

B♭5 ("Hard to Be God")
A5 (".getawayfortheweekend.")
G5 ("81 Tonnes", ".beenherebefore.", "Black and Gold", ".intoodeep.", ".swvrm.", "Sinn Féin")
F♯5 ("Bacalar", "I hope you hate me.")
F5 ("American Blood", "How could I love you?", "LA Queen")
E5 (".beenherebefore.", "Better Days" live Hampton III 2011, "Dempsey", "Freya", "I Never Loved Myself Like I Love You", "KOET", ".loveyoulikethat.", "Natalya", "Uto")
E♭5 ("5:29:45", ".georgia.", ".haunted.", ".lovemelikeyoudo.")
D5 ("81 Tonnes", "Bacalar", "Belharra", "Black and Gold", "CoDA", ".georgia.", "How could I love you?", "Jackie Thorton", "LA Queen", ".loveyoulikethat.", "Lo Air", "Natalya", "Preacher", "Running in Circles", "Sinn Féin", "Sound and Silence", "Under My Skin", "Tipping Point")
C♯5 ("Black and Gold", "Hard to Be God", "I hope you hate me.", "Ruin You", ".SALT.")
C5 ("1.4.5", "American Blood", "Animation", ".beenherebefore.", ".burymewhole.", "Colors", "Creature", "Freya", ".getawayfortheweekend.", ".haunted.", ".intoodeep.", "Jackie Thorton", "KOET", "LA Queen", ".loveyoulikethat.", "One Month", "Preacher", "Roosevelt", "Running in Circles", ".swvrm.", "Tipping Point", "Touch", "Under My Skin", "Uto")
B4 ("5:29:45", "Bacalar", "Be Here", "Better Days" live Hampton III 2011, "Dempsey", ".georgia.", "HURT", "Indigo and Grey", "My Condition", "Natalya", "Sinn Féin", "Sound and Silence", "Sutton", "Tipping Point", "Travelin' Man", "Uto", "Van Gogh")
B♭4 ("81 Tonnes", "Belharra", "CoDA", "Creature", ".getawayfortheweekend.", "Hard to Be God", "How could I love you?", "Lo Air", "Roosevelt", "Running in Circles")
A4 ("1.4.5", "American Blood", "Animation", "Be Here", ".burymewhole.", "Colors", "Frivolity", "Freya", "HURT", "Indigo and Grey", "I Never Loved Myself Like I Love You", "Jackie Thorton", "Lo Air", "My Condition", "One Month", "Preacher", "Roosevelt", "Ruin You", "Touch", "Travelin' Man", "Under My Skin")

Significant Low Notes:

E3 ("Better Days" live Hampton III 2011, "Freya", "Frivolity", "HURT", "Indigo and Grey", "Jackie Thorton", "KOET", "My Condition", "Natalya", "Sinn Féin")
E♭3 ("Creature", "Hard to Be God")
D3 ("1.4.5", "Belharra", ".burymewhole.", ".getawayfortheweekend.", "Indigo and Grey", "LA Queen", "Natalya", "Preacher", "Sutton", "Tipping Point")
C♯3 ("5:29:45", "Ruin You")
C3 (".beenherebefore.", "I Never Loved Myself Like I Love You", ".intoodeep.")
B2 ("I hope you hate me.", "Ruin You", ".SALT.", "Sound and Silence", "Sutton")
B♭2 ("Creature")
A2 ("Uto")
G2 ("CoDA", "How could I love you?", ".swvrm.")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}
B5 "Hard to Be God" [1]
G5 "Natalya" [2]
F♯5 "Sound and Silence" [5]
F5 "Creature" [1]

G2 "One Month" [2]
F2 "81 Tonnes" [2]
E2 "KOET" [2]
C♯2 ".lovemelikeyoudo." [2]
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[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.

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Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.