There are albums that play like soundtracks to the soul and there are albums that stare back. “A Countenance in Involution,” the eighth full-length studio release from alternative rock artist I Forget Myself, does that. This masterwork doesn’t merely speak to listeners; it listens with you, thinking in the silence, hovering over the void. With roots stretching from South Africa to Asia and now based in Hong Kong, I Forget Myself is a singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose music channels a life lived across continents into something universal. This album is his artistic reckoning, a lyrical journey into identity, memory, and cosmic reflection, woven with a textured palette of experimental alt-rock, post-rock ambiance, and ambient minimalism. Let’s descend track by track into this beautifully immersive experience:
“Silence” opens the album like a whispered prayer into the gulf; a meditation on transcendence, memory, and the hush of the cosmos. With lyrics like “exaltation in jubilation’s name. Above, a meteor streaks toward its fame,” the song evokes wonder and surrender. The vocal delivery is solemn and raw, almost ghostlike, as if the singer is recounting a sacred fall: “the precipice against which you fell.” Guitars float like stardust, ambient layers breathe in and out, and pulsing percussion becomes a heartbeat in space. This track hovers.
“What It Is To Know” finds I Forget Myself wandering through the collapsing corridors of time. These lines, “Sands of time encircle. The hourglass seems to have cracked” becomes a chilling refrain, one that wraps around echo-laden guitars and celestial production. His vocals tremble with an urgency just beneath the surface, balanced by a drifting rhythm section that feels like it’s slipping through gravity itself. His performance captures the existential weight of “Pinning a destined outcome. On the rising of the sun.”
“Our Common Flame” is a revelation. Lyrically poetic and musically sweeping, it becomes a hymn to shared humanity and spiritual oneness with lines like: “Drifting out into the universe. We are more than what we are.” The vocals ascend with quiet conviction, growing into a raw crescendo as the song unfolds: “There’s more that binds us / Than distinguishes.” Musically, reverb-rich guitars, ambient synths, and steady drum work create a sonic expanse that invites us to reach inward and outward.
The next song, “Remained in View” is the aching ghost of this record—haunted by flickers of light, loss, and momentary clarity. With lines like “a twinkle and a glimmer extinguished intermittently” and “perhaps you’re the piece of me that’s missing,” it finds its pain in the spaces between sound. The vocal performance teeters between whisper and catharsis, while the atmospheric instrumentation swells slowly, until the “blinding light… permitted to escape” rushes forward in a heart-wrenching release.
On “Exist,” we are invited into the trenches of human resilience. A raw outcry for worth, remembrance, and collective defiance, the track pulls no punches. “Here’s to all those long-forgotten. Hands bleed decorating velvet cotton” is sung with anguished resolve. The refrain, “Remain, resist, assist, desist” becomes a cry of agency, shouted over moody guitars and stripped-back drums. I Forget Myself walks the line between fragility and fury with masterful control on this piece.
Now, “Discard the Thought” is quiet thunder. Minimalist piano and ambient textures provide the perfect backdrop for a deeply internal confession. Lines like “It is rather telling. To not say anything” and “You thought I was yours. And you mine” are delivered with a hushed intensity, like secrets clawing at the throat. The song’s genius lies in what it doesn’t do—allowing silence to amplify its most profound moments.
With “The Precipice,” we scale the cliffs of self-worth and emotional duality. The refrain, “You are enough. Beside myself” is delivered with cracked vulnerability, framed by post-rock guitars and a slow-building instrumental journey that climaxes in emotional freefall. The production is deeply cinematic, breathing into each crack and echo like it’s documenting a spiritual climb or descent.
“A Wish Eroded” paints a collapsing romance in stunning metaphor. From “Tame untangled hearts wrapped in woeful glee” to “The orchard’s burning, scalding the apple of our eye,” the lyrics are saturated with imagery and emotional scorch. The vocal performance is soft and beautifully raw, while sparse piano and guitar riffs mirror the slow disintegration into disillusionment. It closes with “a seed takes root, a wish eroded,” suggesting decay and rebirth.
“Brace for Impact!” is the heartbeat of survival in a dying world. It opens with jagged guitars and pulsing drums like a doomsday clock. The lyrics, “Bereaved in the reprieve. When we finally believe” speak of faith found in the rubble. The cry of “Brace for impact, Look alive” becomes an emotional rallying point, delivered with grit and trembling urgency. This is a song that fights to stay alive.
“To Colour in Motion Too” is a meditation on internal tension and moral apathy. With “Why don’t we try make a difference?” and “You’re more, much more. You’re colour in motion,” the song invites awakening. The vocals move from quiet introspection to emotional release, framed by brooding drums and haunting guitar work. The production allows the message to bloom without overcrowding it; a triumph of restraint.
Finally, “Dividends” offers closing reflection and quiet triumph. “Finality brings new beginnings” becomes the soul of the track. The weary yet determined vocals guide us through existential sludge; “To not be able to contribute. Is a tale as old as time” toward an empowering affirmation: “Triumph is apparently a sum.” With rich ambient layers and shimmering guitar textures, this song closes the album with reverence, not resolution.
In “A Countenance in Involution,” I Forget Myself proves that evolution is not about reinvention but deepening about folding in on the self to find a more profound, honest sound. Every track is stitched with poetic elegance and existential gravity, creating a living and breathing entity album. Vocally, he performs not to impress but to express. The production from Clint Watts deserves its own praise; crisp yet raw, vast yet intimate. Every moment is intentional. Every silence, a scream. For fans of artists who blur the line between music and meditation, emotion and echo—this is your gospel. Welcome, I Forget Myself, to our playlists. You’ve not just been heard; you’ve been felt.
Listen to the “A Countenance in Involution” album on Spotify and SoundCloud
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