Glass Monuments from Fractured Pixels by Dazzle Bloom

# About this track: "Glass Monuments"

Pristine orchestration shatters into digital fragments in this opening portal to our grief journey. We recorded the string section during a rare December snowfall—the studio windows frosted over, creating this surreal bubble where time felt suspended. That fragile environment perfectly mirrored the song's emotional landscape: beautiful but ultimately unsustainable.

The crystalline piano melody came to me the morning after receiving the news, sitting alone in a silent apartment still filled with ghosts. I set out coffee cups for two out of habit. That small, devastating gesture became the inspiration for the lyric "Morning comes and goes again / I set your coffee cup for ten."

Our producer suggested we deliberately introduce subtle digital artifacts throughout the arrangement—little glitches that multiply as the song progresses. Listen closely around the 2:13 mark when the strings begin to fracture. That wasn't a planned effect; our violinist's bow literally snapped during recording, but the moment was so eerily perfect we decided to keep it, processing the sound into the recurring motif that haunts the album.

The bridge represents our first fragile step toward acknowledging reality: "What if these walls I've built so high / Are keeping me from saying bye?" We debated endlessly about including this moment of clarity so early in the album's narrative, but grief isn't linear. It comes in waves, offering glimpses of acceptance before pulling you back under.

Those final piano notes fading into silence took nearly twenty takes. We wanted to capture that exact moment when denial begins to crack—when beautiful illusions start to reveal their true fragility. Glass monuments aren't meant to last forever.

Tracklist

1.	Glass Monuments	3:50

Lyrics

Frozen in a frame of light
Holding on with all my might
Memories in glass displayed
Faithful to each word you said

Morning comes and goes again
I set your coffee cup for ten
Brushed your coat and made the bed
Your voice still echoes in my head
They tell me that I should let go
But how could they expect to know?
The world moves fast, I stay behind
Preserved in chambers of my mind

I built these monuments of you
Reflections caught in morning dew
Perfect images that hide
The breaking happening inside

I keep you here behind the glass (the glass)
A perfect moment made to last (to last)
Though cracks appear with every day (every day)
I'll fix them all and make you stay
You're coming back, you must be true (be true)
These monuments were built for you (for you)
Though something whispers they might break (might break)
I close my ears for my heart's sake

Friends leave messages unheard
Their comfort feels so quite absurd
Your clothes still hanging, neatly pressed
Our photos framed and well-addressed
The world insists that you are gone
But in my mind, you linger on
These careful shrines keep you alive
Through them alone your ghost survives

I built these monuments of you
Reflections caught in morning dew
Perfect images that hide
The breaking happening inside

I keep you here behind the glass (the glass)
A perfect moment made to last (to last)
Though cracks appear with every day (every day)
I'll fix them all and make you stay
You're coming back, you must be true (be true)
These monuments were built for you (for you)
Though something whispers they might break (might break)
I close my ears for my heart's sake

What if these walls I've built so high
Are keeping me from saying bye?
What if these shrines of who you were
Are trapping me in days that were?
Small fractures form in perfect scenes
Reality seeps through the seams
The truth I've fought begins to show
Perhaps it's time to let you go

I kept you here behind the glass (the glass)
A perfect moment made to last (to last)
As cracks appear with every day (every day)
Perhaps it's time to let you stray
You're not coming back, this much is true (is true)
These monuments, what should I do? (I do)
As something whispers they must break (must break)
I open ears for my heart's sake

Glass monuments begin to fall
The sound of breaking fills the hall
Your memory remains intact
But now I face what I had lacked
The courage just to say goodbye
To let the truth replace the lie

Credits

from Fractured Pixels, released April 21, 2025

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