“The Awful Truth” touches on dark content in the way that the track uncovers the sexual abuse and the subsequent cover up of that abuse by the Catholic Church. Brenton Harris, vocalist or Melbourne band Catholic Guilt highlights that “…abuse of power in this way is truly heinous and unfortunately has been all too common throughout history and continues to be prevalent today.”
The video clip compliments the single in the way that it presents a clean happy environment with the darker lyrical undertone. Brenton explains that “the clip, much like the song itself is intended to show the dichotomy between the bright happy message that the church presents and the awful, sinister truth that often lies beneath that facade.”
The track features a toe tapping beat, an infectious melody and a number of catchy pop elements, Harris provides the lyrical explanation behind “The Awful Truth” and the contradictory beliefs and justices that inspire the ideals, “The bridge of the song is written from the perspective that according to their own belief structure, the perpetrators will be judged by God at the time of their passing and for all intents and purposes they are going to fail that test and go to hell … Whether or not that hell exists, there’s a certain sense of schadenfreude and justice in that philosophical construct. We sincerely hope they spend their remaining days on earth trembling in fear of what awaits them in death.”
Catholic Guilt have made a point with the release of this brand new single to extend their love and support to the victims of this kind of abuse, and will be backing up their words with action by donating a portion of the proceeds collected at the single launch to SECASA (South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault). Harris adds, “we’ll continue to support the push for justice to be served for the injustices committed against them.”
