Standout Track: The fist-pumper “Sophisticated Liars,” Monument’s contribution to a recent four-way split 7-inch with Dikembe, Hightide Hotel, and Jet Set Sail. On this track, the typically long-winded post-emo rockers opt for a concise, energetic ditty with a mid-’90s pop-punk feel. “We are sophisticated liars/whoh-oh-oh!/we’ve got you buying every line,” sings Gabe Marquez. But while the song sounds stripped down, guitarist Anton Kropp still slips some noodly melodies into drummer Brandon Korch and bassist/vocalist Dan Doggett’s driving rhythm section.

Musical Motivation: After wrapping up its 2010 debut LP Goes Canoeing, the band thought it might be time for a stylistic shift. “I remember we had been writing longer songs with large changes in dynamics,” Korch says, “so we wanted to write something quick and energetic.” After messing around in Kropp’s Silver Spring home studio, they quickly wrote and recorded “Sophisticated Liars,” but it sat around unreleased. That is until they were approached by Fenton, Mich., DIY label Count Your Lucky Stars to contribute to a split with a few other bands well-liked in the “emo resurgence” scene.

Sweet Little Lies: Monument tends to write its lyrics after it’s finalized the music, but that doesn’t make poetics an afterthought. “The song is about the trouble one can find themselves in after telling lies,” Korch says. Hence the refrain, “Trouble seems to find me/When I’m still lying through my teeth.”

Listen to “Sophisticated Liars” after the jump.