I feel like if you listen to rock music, and really get into the awesome music scene that Australia has, you should know this Melbourne band, The Beautiful Monument. This powerful 4 piece just finished doing a small headline tour of packed-out shows in Australia, in support of their incredible new album The Reaper!
Here’s my track-by-track breakdown:
Give up – This is a very strong opening track to the album. It seems to be a track about fighting through what you’re going through and just carrying on. You may not be okay but you can get through it. I quite like the synth elements in this track as well.
Deceiver – The 1st thing I noticed was this track comes in heavy and almost seems angry. It seems to be about what she’s been through, if the past matters and if she can possibly do it again.
Burn – So far each track seems quite different in its own way whether it’s the instrumental or just lyrically. And each one seems personal and this is no different. Essentially she is fighting, reflecting on what has been and how they won’t forget it.
Reaper – So far this seems to be the “slowest” track, well I thought it was. It picks up and honestly I can definitely see this being the one that people really jump to and scream along too. It’s still personal but almost a bit more upbeat. This is about trying to move on from someone who has passed but not wanting to actually forget them.
Kintsugi – “also known as Kintsukuroi, is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique” I think this title touches on repairing yourself or a relationship but the repairs being visible. That’s what the song seems to be about as well, just repairing and carrying on rather than starting again. I find this track somewhat up-tempo as well.
Invisible – I feel like I can’t pin down what this is about but I notice how she touches on someone using you when you’re doing well and I guess in those moments we question if someone is genuine or not. Instrumentally this is quite fast and heavy.
Stay – I’d have to say this track is a “slow” one too. Both the song and video lead me to believe this is about a father leaving. It’s quite an honest story and seems to be told by the daughter who is reflecting on the past.
Cursed – I’m starting to realise with this album that I can’t pins own exactly what each track is about and obviously what I’ve written is what I think it’s about. But we probably do this with every song we listen to in the way we relate it to our own situations. This is about a relationship to me.
Ida – I lyrically link this track to a relationship and the dependence but also reflection from previous ones. This track is instrumentally quite fast-paced and the lyrics are broken up to match.
The Silencer – The final track! This album is almost a personal story and reflection but now is the track that mentions running away and just acknowledging that this person is just an average person no matter what you think they are. Instrumentally this is quite average-paced bout does pick up in parts.
Now I know this isn’t exactly a detailed break-down or probably grammatically great but if I did it thoroughly would you still listen to the album? Because you should. Go listen to it.
The Reaper is personal and as I’m sure you’ll see from my break down, you relate different things to that way it is written. It may not even be about what I think it is but that is what I’ve taken from it.
The Beautiful Monument have shown that a raw and personal album can just be a knock-out. This album is incredible and I look forward to seeing them live again soon (hopefully!). AUSTRALIA YOUR MUSIC SCENE IS SO GOOD HONESTLY!
