Cut By A Rose (ft. Sapphire Star Studios) – Monique Grimme (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

There is always something lyrically profound at work in Monique Grimme‘s music. While the music and words are beguiling on the surface level, the real reward comes from delving deeper into her songs, getting to the heart of their meaning. “Cut By A Rose” makes for a perfect musical metaphor; the titular rose is the perfect blend of physical beauty and thorny pain for the message being delivered here.

As the gentle, balladic rhythms, the subtle beats, and the serene sounds coil calmly around her, she warns us that, like the rose, people are often also a blend of opposites, and it is easy to be taken in by beguiling beauty and not see the danger of their thorns that it hides.

Of course, lyrics are nothing without conviction, and it is the emotion that she draws out of the song’s words that is the real power here. Monique has always excelled at conveying deep emotion, from longing and heartbreak to hope and mystical wonder. Here, the vocal delivery is suitably raw and heartfelt, intense, and able to transfix the listener; this is not just sentiment being expressed, but the voice of experience; these are words of wisdom to be heeded.

And if the vocals are emotive and poignant, so too is the music that carries them. Here, you won’t find sonics crammed in every space, not the noise-for-noise-sake clutter that so much modern music leans on. No, this is the art of restraint in action. Here, it’s the breath between notes, the echo that trails long after the beat has hit, the piano’s ghost hanging in the air, the whisper of a vocal slipping into silence. It’s in those gaps, those delicious voids, where mood gathers, tension brews, and the whole thing begins to shimmer with a kind of understated majesty. Sparse, yes—but never empty, and even those necessary spaces are symphonic in their impact.

This latest single comes courtesy of Bongo Boy Records and is yet another song resulting from a creative alliance between Monique Grimme and the sonic architects at Sapphire Star Studios. What started as a collaboration in the tail end of 2024 has quickly become something of a musical force—one that’s already spun out a handful of tracks worthy of more than just a passing nod from the awards circuit.

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