What do you do when the enemy comes from within?

Certainly, we’ve all gone through periods where our internal voice has left us feeling less-than. For Griffin Novie, his internal voice — and the sordid games it is known to play — inspired his single, “Monologue,” from his most recent album, Balcony Bliss.

“Though it might not seem like an obvious influence, I’ve always been really impressed with ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC.  It has an earworm of a chorus hook that everyone wants to sing along with. I think the chorus is especially memorable, because the verses so clearly lay out what a ‘scrub’ is and why you shouldn’t like him,” Novie said. “I want to elicit a similar feeling with ‘Monologue,’ but the ‘scrub’ is my own inner voice. While I’m no fan of toxic positivity, I need to give myself positive reinforcement from time to time. I know that I am capable of being cruel to myself, and my brain happens to use second-person vocabulary to do so.”

After outlining the dastardly behavior of his inner voice — Novie acknowledges that the voice “taught me to respect everyone but myself” — the New York native uses the chorus of “Monologue” to provide himself re-assurance, in an effort to do away with this “pointed, spiteful figure” that exists inside of his mind.

“I think, at some point, most artists have to learn to reconcile with the self-internalized cruelty of our inner voices,” Novie said. “We all ‘gotta get back to the first person’ and be kinder to ourselves sometimes.”

As for the video? It was directed by Brendan McKnight, and begins with Novie waking to find himself on a New York City rooftop. From there, we are treated to picturesque views of the New York cityscape, juxtaposed with warm and cozy studio shots — where we see Novie himself performing on every single instrument, all at once.

This one’s worth the watch, and it’s here for you. Check out “Monologue” below!