“Bread & Circuses”: A Haunting Madness You Won’t Forget Journey Into
2 min read
In their recent original single, Bread and Circuses, Powers of the Monk (POM) explore the disjointed mind of a schizophrenia patient, creating one of the most ethereal and ghostly soundscapes that collide with sanity and lunacy. Even the title, which alludes to a Roman saying of feeding crowds empty nonsense, establishes the atmosphere of a song not at all shallow. In other words, it descends into the madness of a person who tries to break free of a mental hospital, but turns out in a grotesque and allegorical circus where lions eat clowns, a metaphor of carnivorous anarchy eating illusions. The band employs this imagery as a way of provoking thought, as well as confronting the listener with the painful truths about the state of mental health and detachment in society, as well as the boundaries between reality and hallucination.
Musically, Bread and Circuses is saturated with textural richness and ranges of brooding guitar, dramatic keyboards, and haunting violin by CasSondra Powers. The instrumentation is clear and deliberate enough that it is pierced by the vocals of David S. Monk, who walks the line between telling a story and succumbing to emotional intensity. There is a liveliness, a breath of life, by the entry of guest drummer John O’Reilly Jr., which adds weight and energy to a tale that reads like a fever dream. The decision of the band to work with an Italian producer once again, Dani Macchi (Belladonna), still pays off as the sound on this song is majestic and polished, and the sound that was childhood to their previous compositions, such as firefly or switchin rails.
Incorporated in the Pontiac-Detroit-Ann Arbor region, Powers of the Monk have gradually worked their catalog based on experimentation, narration, and an appetite to venture into the dark side of the human experience. Their format of 2024 releases, starting with the haunting “Puffy Head (with bird legs)” and including the soulful version of the classic song, It’s Your Voodoo Working, demonstrated their diversity, whereas a song, Bread & Circuses in 2025, reinforced their intentions to take risks in the sphere of art. As their releases come with more and more confidence, POM is now more confident to take on any role it wants, and with this song, they are cementing their position as a voice that is not afraid of going where musical conventions or social taboos fear to take them. It is not only the song but also an experience, and the experience that will last a long time after the last note.
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