You might remember Seattle-based artist Branik as one of our 2019 Daily Discovery picks. After the release of her debut EP, Why Not, the singer – like most of us during the pandemic – delved deeper into herself, letting her demons and newfound freedom run wild in new track, “Monster.”
There’s a certain type of bond among the broken. We read a poem or hear a song that reflects the hurt we feel inside and it becomes a sort of kindredship and oneness with the artist. “Monster” gets into all the nitty gritty parts of your soul one may be scared to confront, but when life gets put on hold, there’s no better time than a worldwide quarantine to sort through it all.
“I have a long history of struggling to love myself. Like many others, it has been a lifelong challenge. As soon as I think I am really doing it, the world seems to give me a big gut punch.
Well, it actually feels a little bit more like my chest imploding.
When I wrote ‘Monster’ I felt like I had, yet again, lost everything I had been working so hard to make wonderful.
It had been a year and a half of being left by the people that promised to love me and have my back. That December, I was sitting in tears on my cousin’s bedroom floor playing my aunt’s guitar.
I was in so much pain, I needed love.
I needed someone to stay and fight for me.
I needed to find a way to love and fight for me.
This song was me making sense of what I was feeling. It took me about 15 minutes to write. I was in crisis for a while after. I can feel my heart break a little bit every time I sing it.
Sad music has always helped heal the holes in my chest that never seem to stop bleeding.
My hope in releasing this song is to give my listeners the same comfort that music has given me in times of grief and sorrow. There is something consoling about hearing lyrics that reflect exactly what I feel. I have one song that quite literally saved my life more than once. It gives me hope. It reminds me that I am not alone. I want my music to do that for other people.
‘Monster’ was me breaking through my coffin to claw out of my grave.”
Listen to “Monster” below:
