SONS vocalist and songwriter Aaron Newberry explains the track “Masters of Flattery” here:
Masters was written in 3rd person from the perspective of a pissed off kid, angry with the church. You see the progression from the beginning where he grew up in the church, but I started a bit further in to the story of this “person.” Basically, he sees all the flaws of the church before recognizing all his own, before realizing the church is made up of people; thus the imperfection he wasn’t expecting.
Masters of the Flattery literally is the idea that christians basically do what they want and get away with it under the code of “grace.” This isn’t to say grace doesn’t exist because clearly it does, but rather the perspective of an individual who felt like christians were perfect and came to realize it’s not like that at all.
By the time you reach the chorus and his cry for grace, it’s understood he’s made a mistake and is asking for forgiveness. I think this is a common occurrence in the Protestant Church today so I wanted to write about it, especially where he says “don’t play me like a member of your congregation, you’re just as crooked as this ‘christian’ nation.” It’s pretty obvious what he’s saying there, it’s a defense mechanism many of us use by saying things like “who are you to judge me!?” when in reality often times it’s just one brother looking out for another.
The new record from Sons, Keep Quiet, will be available from Slospeak Records 2/14
“Masters of Flattery”
