A short, five-track odyssey from the Hong Kong-based singer, songwriter, and indie rock powerhouse I Forget Myself, An Exception is an artistic left turn for the experienced artist that takes listeners on a cosmic journey through nuanced alt-rock stunners that are endlessly engaging through rhythmic twists and bold riffing mayhem.
One thing that is common throughout An Exception is the high-octane songwriting, blended with the smooth and elegant croons of I Forget Myself. Both, alongside the philosophical lyrical musings, lend to this selection of songs a certain Porcupine Tree flair. Regardless, I Forget Myself easily distinguishes his songs with a unique production sound that’s at once relentless and forgiving. The guitars that wail, stutter, and power through the five songs are uniformly overdriven and fuzzy, though never distorted or brash. The drums are punchy, but never abrasive. And the rhythm section in general is exceptionally tight. ‘The Climb’, the EP’s starter, is a delicious piece that houses unforgettable riffs and rhythmic nuance in its runtime of just under 2 minutes.
‘Bygones’ runs for a little less than 3 minutes, and throughout those rich seconds, I Forget Myself goes truly cosmic with the battering drums and wailing space-age guitar ramblings in the background, backing the edgy, mathematical riffs, and philosophical lyrical ideas. Maybe the album’s most polarizing offering, there is no mistaking the clear intricacy that runs through every single note on ‘Bygones’. ‘Magna Catharsis’ follows. While this song is the EP’s mellowest, channeling a more nuanced side to Alice in Chains’ doom-ridden and sludgy compositional ideas, it is also one of the album’s more engaging and easy to follow offerings. With bluesy riffs and approachable rhythmic contortions, ‘Magna Catharsis’ is the cut with the largest mass appeal on this EP.
‘I Dream Out An Exception’ is the EP’s manic penultimate cut. Another space-age drum part coupled with rocketing guitar riffs and ample, guitar-built ambience, this cut is fast-paced, energizing, and exciting. ‘Contexts’ closes the album with another piece of crazed, high energy songwriting that is this time arranged in a more sophisticated and gentle fashion, owing to the highly technical and guitar riff and non-linear song progression. All combined result in a song that’s at once exciting with its songwriting, but highly accessible with its arrangement. The song blooms in its latter half as the guitar riffs open up, away from the tight, rhythmic formation they have been assuming since the song’s beginning, giving way to the album’s most engaging musical passages, in its final minute and a half.
The ninth EP from the experienced I Forget Myself is a thoroughly rewarding musical journey to start a new year with. Exciting, and with a wealth of musical ideas, are beautifully represented, I Forget Myself’s output is masterful and balanced.
