While attending New York City’s Bard College, Penguin Prison‘s Chris Glover started a winkingly wry conceptual “boy band” called The Smartest People at Bard that gained a following around campus, as well as an admirer in A Tribe Called Quest‘s Q-Tip. When that fanfare died down, he decided to figure out how to make a go of becoming a pop star on whatever scale would have him. In this First Take, Hive’s video series dedicated to emerging artists, Glover shows off a sound intriguingly difficult to pin down, inspired in part by the cool style of dance-rock acts like LCD Soundsystem but also liable to spin off into playful taunts like “Don’t Fuck With My Money,” an infectious single that tips Glover’s stated adoration for the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince.

Penguin Prison’s self-titled debut album arrives October 18 on Downtown Records For more of Penguin Prison’s First Take shoot, check out the photo gallery below.