{"id":22418,"date":"2026-09-10T08:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=22418"},"modified":"2026-09-10T08:37:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:37:32","slug":"los-angeles-indie-rock-artist-brookelen-explores-the-underside-of-everything-that-burns-brightly-with-third-ep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mkultramagazine.com\/?p=22418","title":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES INDIE ROCK ARTIST BROOKELEN EXPLORES THE UNDERSIDE OF EVERYTHING THAT BURNS BRIGHTLY WITH THIRD EP"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo credit: Emily Krisky<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Los Angeles-based indie rock musician brookelen<\/strong> announces her unflinching, intricate third EP, dark side of the sun <\/em><\/strong>due out October 23 via Soliloquy<\/strong> Records <\/strong>and available to pre-save now<\/a>. Alongside the announcement, the artist shares the grungy, raw first taste with “hide<\/strong>,” out now<\/a> with its music video,<\/a> a heavy, cathartic track that shines a light on demons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> 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\u2014ego, secrecy, trauma, shame, doubt, and love lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musically, dark side of the sun<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“‘dark side of the sun’ is about looking directly at the parts of ourselves we’d rather keep hidden,”<\/em><\/strong> says brookelen. “It’s about discovering that healing isn’t becoming someone new\u2014it’s finally allowing yourself to be fully seen.” <\/em><\/strong>It was engineered by Claire<\/strong> Morrison<\/strong> (GOON), with additional production and mixing by Pearce<\/strong> Gronek<\/strong> (Exum, Hudson Freeman, Miya Folick, Paper Lady).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first single from the project, “hide” is a return to self for the artist\u2013a guitar-driven song that lays it all bare and is her most collaborative work yet. As brookelen puts it, \u201cThis is my exorcism song. It\u2019s about rooting out the pain, calling it out of hiding. demons don\u2019t like light. This song is for shining a light on your demons.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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