Article Contributed by Big Hassle Media
Published on 2026-10-24
Today, Los Angeles-based indie rock musician brookelen shares her layered, dynamic and unwavering third EP dark side of the sun out now via Soliloquy Records, along with the cinematic, angsty ode to Los Angeles living on the "shadow" visual here. This month and next month, brookelen will celebrate the new music with live shows in LA, NYC, Washington D.C, Maryland and Boston. See a full list of dates here and below.
Across dark side of the sun, 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.
LISTEN: dark side of the sun
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 Morison (GOON), with additional production and mixing by Pearce Gronek (Exum, Hudson Freeman, Paper Lady).
The title of the 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.
Earlier this month, brookelen shared the intimate, raw tune "shadow"–a sonic ego death. 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."
LISTEN: "shadow"
Its accompanying video is out now, which the artist calls her own Odyssey. "I wanted to capture something honest about living in the city of angels through the song and accompanying video. 'Shadow' feels like an exploration of the beauty, chaos, and reckoning that comes with being in Los Angeles. When I wrote the lyrics for shadow, they were about an experience of ego death, and I drew inspiration from the story of Icarus. We wanted to play with that mythology visually, weaving between heaven and the streets of the city."
WATCH: "shadow"
The previously shared witch-rock track "omen" came about after learning of an ex-boyfriend's recent engagement. The artist shares, "'Omen' is my witch-rocky anthem for following warning, prophetic signs that all lead back to self-actualization, independence, queerness, and embracing myself."
LISTEN: "omen"
WATCH: "omen" (ft. Jessicka Addams, Jack Off Jill)
On the first single, inspired by Alice In Chains and Hole, "hide" is a return to self for the artist–a guitar-driven song that lays it all bare and is her most collaborative work yet.
LISTEN: "hide"
WATCH: "hide"
Growing up moving from state to state, brookelen considers Virginia home, where she picked up her first instrument, the violin. A self-taught musician, she relocated to Los Angeles in search of collaborators, creative community, and reinvention. Since then, she has steadily built a catalog defined by emotional honesty, orchestral textures, and fearless storytelling.
Her debut EP, time to go, chronicled the painful necessity of closing old chapters through melancholic string arrangements and poetic songwriting. The follow-up EP going, going, gone expanded that narrative into one of survival and renewal, exploring sobriety, domestic violence, and mental health through walls of guitar feedback and sweeping orchestration. Together, the records established brookelen's songwriting as a space for reckoning, healing, and release. Now, brookelen has added a new dimension to her discography–one that pushes to the furthest edge of her sound and depths of self-expression, finding her more raw, honest and bare than ever before.
Connect with brookelen on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
dark side of the sun EP tracklisting
01. omen
02. enemy
03. undo
04. hide
05. shadow
brookelen live 2026
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 Spring, 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
11/14 - Philadelphia, PA - House show with Her Side of the Bed and Pinky Lemon
11/16 - Boston, MA - O'Brien's - Leila Lamb + Husbands
