"The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)" follows previous singles "Gethsemane" and "CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)".

Set at the fictional college campus Parnassus University, the songs on The Scholars are populated with students and staff whose travails illuminate a loose narrative of life, death, and rebirth. From Shakespeare to Mozart to classical opera, frontman Will Toledo pulled from the classics when devising the lyrics and story arc, while the music draws from classic narrative song cycles such as The Who’s Tommy and Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust.