The Beautiful Monument drop 'Deceiver', join Greyscale Records

Greyscale Records expand with The Beautiful Monument now joining their ranks. 

The Greyscale Records family just got a little bigger this week, with the addition of Melbourne's The Beautiful Monument to their roster. An announcement that also came paired with the release of their latest track, 'Deceiver'. Written about drug abuse within her family home from an unsuspecting sibling following similar issues from another family member years prior, and the issues and stress that that caused, vocalist Lizi Blanco spoke of the song's meaning, sharing:

"Writing Deceiver was hard... it’s like the sequel to our track Ashes off our first record, except instead of one sibling it’s now about the other; which almost made it harder to process. Especially when we’d been through this shit before, and all of a sudden however many years down the track it’s the same bullshit, just with the most unexpected person." 

As for the song itself? Well, it's not very good. This new Beautiful Monument tune does the classic musical juxtaposition of darker/heavier verses forming into happier/brighter choruses. A staple for plenty of other alternative artists these days, admittedly. Yet in this instance, it feels disjointed; the song just kinda goes through the motions and these opposing sections take you out of the experience. So as it starts off with this edgy, nu-metal vibe, it then hits an alt-rock tone, before suddenly, jarringly, switching into the catchy pop-punk sound of their norm. It's like two opposing songs spliced together, and while I can see the contrast that the band was going for, it doesn't land all that well. Which is a shame, as that "everything that we've been through" chorus is one of the group's better refrains too.

While I do think there's plenty of mileage in this kind of song-writing approach, and while I also think that The Beautiful Monument are more than capable of writing competent, engaging songs via said method, 'Deceiver' isn't the best example of that. Of course, if you're curious, check it all out below:

Catch The Beautiful Monument performing at this year's Download Festival Australia. 

If you or someone you know is in need of council about drug abuse, please seek council and help from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and Lifeline.