brookelen – shadow
Today, Los Angeles-based indie rock musician brookelen tries to find a balance on “shadow,” out now, a mythology-inspired, grungy sonic ego death.
The musician continues to build her dynamic sonic universe, with her unflinching, intricate third EP, dark side of the sun due out October 23 via Soliloquy Records.
This month and next month, brookelen will celebrate the new music with live shows in LA, NYC, Washington D.C, Maryland and Boston.
Out today, the intimate, raw tune “shadow” is brookelen’s ego death song. The artist shares, “I love mythology and astrology and maybe even demonology. I wrote this song about the story of Icarus, who flies too close to the sun and his wings melt and he perishes. It’s a reminder to find the balance. Both yin and yang. I love intimate vocals paired with fuzzed out guitars.”
The title of the forthcoming project itself is an intentional contradiction. While the sun is the brightest and most life-sustaining force in our solar system, dark side of the sun imagines the unseen weight carried by everything that burns brightly. Rather than referencing astronomy, the title becomes a metaphor for the hidden parts of one’s self—ego, secrecy, trauma, shame, doubt, and love lost.
Across the EP, brookelen explores religious trauma, queerness, sexuality, and independence through recurring imagery of angels and demons, Genesis, mythology, omens, and Icarus. The songs embrace contradiction, asking listeners to consider what happens when faith collides with freedom, when grief becomes transformation, and when vulnerability becomes strength.
Musically, dark side of the sun blends indie rock, orchestral arrangements, post-rock textures, and folk intimacy into a sound that is both cinematic and deeply personal. Recorded live, the performances preserve every breath, swell, and fracture, allowing emotion to remain at the center of every song. “‘dark side of the sun’ is about looking directly at the parts of ourselves we’d rather keep hidden,” says brookelen. “It’s about discovering that healing isn’t becoming someone new—it’s finally allowing yourself to be fully seen.” It was engineered by Claire Morrison (GOON), with additional production and mixing by Pearce Gronek (Exum, Hudson Freeman, Miya Folick, Paper Lady).
10/28 – Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records – With Sluttony, Ranger Jane
10/29 – Los Angeles, CA – El Cid (halloween cover show as Hole) – With Sister Gemini
11/10 – Silver Springs, Maryland – Quarry House Tavern – With Humidifier, It Wants
11/11 – Queens, New York – Trans Pecos – With Paper Lady, Veronica
11/13 – Washington, D.C. – DC9 – With Marci
11/16 – Boston, MA – O’Brien’s – Support TBA
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