Brooklyn Forbes – Egoic Illusion | Psychedelia

Brooklyn Forbes is an indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Cleveland, Ohio. Her preferred genres of music are indie pop, neo-psychedelia, folk rock and alternative. Forbes is able to create these unique atmospheres with her various arrangements for her tracks, making her music all the more intricate.

Brooklyn Forbes has released her latest EP, Egoic Illusion, an EP with five tracks spanning just over seventeen minutes. Each track has a unique quality to it, but remains true to the theme of the whole album.

On My Way is a slow track that sets you into the groove for what’s to come. The track has these dazed vocals that are super relaxing. The synths and percussions really play a major role in setting the atmosphere. The heavenly nature of Brooklyn Forbes and her mighty voice stand out, but only just as they find themselves enmeshed in the atmosphere with the instrumental. These futuristic noises that sound like something from an Atari game give it this extra psychedelic feeling.

The album then moves into Curiosity, a slowed down, more folksy track that uses more acoustic instruments. Brooklyn Forbes’ voice, with hints of echoes and harmonies create this heavenly feeling in the timbre of the track that really touch the listener. I find myself feeling some really strong, raw emotions when I listen to this track. Everything about it from the instrumentation to the vocals to the lyrics just lead you to a more curious phase.

Continuing on the somber, melancholy of Curiosity, The Ashes uses the same vocal programming and effects but to drive home a lonely, wallowing kind of sound that really drive home the message of the lyrics. Brooklyn Forbes has created a Folk track that I personally feel is on par with Justin Vernon and his ensemble band Bon Iver. The clean acoustic instrumental leaves plenty of space for the vocals, contrary to the first track, On My Way which had these blurred boundaries.

Suddenly we’re met by this classical piano piece played to the solo vocals of Forbes, again changing the direction of the album. Once the harmonies kick in and the piano picks up the pace, you’ll find yourself immersed in something that is reminiscent of Blonde Redhead. Brooklyn Forbes showcases her control over her vocals on this track having made some brilliantly arranged harmonic intervals. I find the progression in the melodies especially intriguing as everything picks up pace almost as if there’s an anxiety following us closely after every choral break and finally ending on a crescendo.

We then move onto Echo Chamber, and back to the psychedelic vibe that Forbes so eloquently started us off with. Almost as if taking us on this upward and downward ride, finally coming to a point of resolution. The instrumental makes use of Foley and these heavenly harmonics to blur the boundaries between elements. The bass, panned to the left output, feels so comforting throughout the track, although at times it could feel like you’ve been deafened, but that’s purely for effect!

As a huge fan of psychedelic work in all forms, I’m a massive fan of Brooklyn Forbes and Egoic Illusions. The EP is only seventeen minutes long and is definitely worth the time. I will be recommending this to a lot of people!