Rising Australian talent The Beautiful Monument have somehow managed to tap into that elusive reservoir of musical expression that is tantalisingly close for every band and artist, but also ever elusive to most.
By blending shades of light with lashings of heaviness and combining them with enough attitude and rebelliousness to be just shy of dangerous, The Beautiful Monument have become adept at producing music that not only transcends genres, but also unites the soul.
With raw, honest and confronting subject matter, the quartet manage to strike the balance between humanising emotions through music, allowing fans and followers a glimpse into the band at their most vulnerable and challenging but still striving by the moment to better themselves and their craft.
Late last month, the band introduced us to new music in the form of the enchanting single Duerma - which means sleep in Spanish - laying bare vocalist Lizi McIntosh's self-doubts and inner demons that confront her as part of her chosen daily vocation. It is a powerful and confronting slab of music that encompasses a plethora of fear, emotion, hope and understanding, bound up beautifully in a maelstrom of sonic activity that reflects its subject matter.
This weekend sees The Beautiful Monument wind up a national run with RedHook, with McIntosh joining HEAVY earlier today to tell us about the new track, the tour, and plans moving forward. We start by asking about Duerma and how it has been received.
"Really good," she enthused, "which has been nice. I didn't really know how it would go having bits of Spanish in a song, but it's been received really well. Less anxiety-inducing now that it's out in the wild (smiles) and I don't have to sit there and overthink it."
We press her about the musical side of Duerma and what they were going for with it.
"I think we wanted to do kind of a throwback to the 2007 kind of feel," she measured. "It was inspired a little bit by Pierce The Veil and cool shit that we were into when we were younger. But the song itself, meaning wise is about my struggles being a musician, and the self-doubt and people that you think are on your team but end up letting you down. Or responding in a way you weren't expecting someone that is meant to be on your side to respond. The whole recording process or writing music is a super daunting thing for me, and it has been for years. I've been doing this for 12 years now - this band in particular - but, yeah. I guess I wasn't used to constructive criticism until I came into this band, and I understand that constructive criticism is super important now. But, at the time, I wasn't used to it because I was very used to people saying 'everything you write is amazing'. So when I was told something I wrote fucken sucked, it was definitely a punch to the ego, and it hurt. I think that whole experience traumatised me in a way because every time I have to record or write anything I am so anxious about it. Even last year, I was, like, do I even bother? Do I keep going with music? Am I even good enough to do this?"
In the full interview, Lizi further discussed the recent release of single Duerme and situations throughout her life that had a lasting negative effect on her. She reflected on her struggles with self-doubt and criticism in her musical journey, revealing how these challenges have influenced her songwriting process. Lizi also shared insights into the band's recent tour experiences, the camaraderie among Australian bands, and their plans for future music releases, including an all-ages show in Melbourne.
She also spoke about the changing sonic landscape of The Beautiful Monument and the importance of experimentalismation, opening up about sharing her personal thoughts and feelings through verse and how it helps her deal with these emotions.