Powers of the Monk, the Michigan-based duo of David S. Monk and CasSondra โPontiacโ Powers, return with their latest single, โBread & Circuses,โ a darkly whimsical track that merges art-rock textures with lyrical allegory.
Featuring guest drummer John OโReilly Jr., the song continues the groupโs experimental streakโlayering acoustic and electric guitars, textured synths, and even surreal sound effects like lion roars, airplane take-offs, and hospital monitors. Written between late December 2024 and January 2025, the track went through months of meticulous refinement before reaching its final April mixdown, reflecting POMโs dedication to detail.
The track opens with shimmering acoustic guitar chords and ethereal layered vocals that end up sounding pretty soothing and hypnotic, and draws the listener into a dreamlike state. As the drums enter, steady and pulsing, the mood deepens into an unsettling siren call, as if a fearful apocalyptic event is incoming. The daunting effect heightens as the growl of lions appears alongside the chilling refrain, โThe lions eat the clowns,โ a moment that underlines the songโs central metaphor, when order in a society starts being shaken, distracted by the joy of spectacle, while darker forces lurk underneath.
The lyrics come like a hallucinatory vision. They sing, โGreasy fingers on my window pane / Seven people made up by my brain.โ You are reminded of a schizophrenic narrator haunted by fractured realities, as the identity splinters to faltering masks. These private disorientations blur into a larger social allegory, as the line goes, โI see it all, Rome about to fall / Paper cups to keep us all in line,โ itโs reminding you of how nature starts to rage and all lead to cultural decline when empires fall, and how many are about to fall in our time. Mentioning โred pills blue pillsโ nods to the addictive illusions of our modern culture, as we keep replacing truths with distractions, and numb our dissent with conformity.
By the time the outro rises with surreal imagery of โbubble babies floating in space,โ the track transforms despair into something strangely transcendent, leaving listeners in awe. With โBread & Circuses,โ Powers of the Monk facilitates a haunting commentary on collapse, survival, and the thin veil between sanity and spectacle.
Listen to it on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan