New song by Josh Montague
There’s something haunting about a room built to dazzle, yet echoing with absence.
“What Lacks of Ball, Room” is a short, down-tempo piece I wrote reflecting on spaces — both literal and emotional — that promise grandeur but deliver disconnection. It draws on the imagery of a ballroom: tapestries, open air, ornamented rooms built for display. But in this room, there’s no music. No dance. No gathering. Just the weight of decoration and the gaze of judgment.
Here are the lyrics:
bright row tapestries
front room ball room breeze
windowless gazes into hearts
nothing but a seat 2 of dartsbright row tapestries
front room ball room breeze
windowless gazes into hearts
nothing but a seat 2 of dartsthen one finds the door
like a fleet to floor
scapes the scopes of room
leaves the views that loomthen, bright row tapestry, your no longer in
There’s a feeling of scrutiny without presence in this piece — like the weight of eyes on you, but no one really there. The ballroom, a symbol of performance and elegance, becomes hollow — opulent but empty. “Nothing but a seat 2 of darts” implies critique disguised as comfort — like being offered a place to sit while being subtly pierced.
In the final lines, there’s a quiet break — an escape. The tapestry still exists, but you are no longer in it. The exit is less triumphant than it is essential — pulling away from a place that never truly had what it claimed to hold.
A Song About Absence Dressed as Extravagance
This piece feels especially relevant in a world of highlight reels, where elegance can mask hollowness and rooms (physical or social) seem curated more for appearance than warmth. The song ends in E regular, simple, grounded — a kind of final footstep out of the ornate, and back into something truer.
Thanks for listening — and for sitting in with me.
—Josh
YouTube: https://youtu.be/qkMSUqVwB7c
NFTs & Artwork: opensea.io/joshmontague
Twitter/X: @thejoshworld
TikTok: @thejoshworldme
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