Jeremiah James wrote “Forget Reality” out of a specific kind of exhaustion, the feeling of being worn down by constant noise, division, and opinion until stepping outside of it all starts to sound appealing. The Los Angeles singer-songwriter built the track around that impulse, framing it less as apathy and more as a search for some quieter version of reality to exist in. It’s a familiar premise for alternative rock, but James backs it up with real craft in the arrangement rather than leaning on the concept alone.
That craft shows up most in the rhythm section, which is the song’s strongest asset. The basslines are genuinely addictive, weaving through the mix with a melodic sense that gives the track its pulse, while the drums hit with a tasteful, pocketed feel that never overplays its hand. Between the two, “Forget Reality” has a groove that carries the song even when the atmospheric guitar textures and indie singer-songwriter phrasing settle into more familiar territory. It’s the rhythm section doing the heavy lifting here, and it does it well.
The accompanying video matches that level of care. Shot over three days across Downtown Los Angeles, the desert, and an industrial warehouse, with a full production team behind it, the video has a genuinely cinematic quality that’s rare for an independent release at this scale. It leans into the song’s theme of parallel realities without spelling anything out too literally, giving the visuals room to breathe alongside the music instead of just illustrating the lyrics. The production quality alone puts it a notch above most videos in this space.
“Forget Reality” doesn’t offer easy answers about consciousness or perception, and it doesn’t really try to. What it does offer is a well-built groove and a visual companion piece that both reward attention, even if the song’s broader questions about existence stay fairly abstract. James has clearly put real resources and thought into making this single feel like a complete experience, and the rhythm section, in particular, suggests there’s a strong pop sensibility beneath the introspective framing.
