Track Review: Jessica // Forgotten Garden
Bringing together elements of post-punk and alternative pop, Forgotten Garden is a duo with intimate gothic tendencies that you have to love. Defined as an indie-rock duo, the UK-related pair venture into the realms of acoustic haziness with their music. Featured on The Other Side Reviews, It’s All Indie, Less Than 1000 Followers, RGM, The Music Bugle, Mystic Sons to name a few, Forgotten Garden is reaching audiences on an international level. The band first made their way onto the indie music scene with a well-received EP in September 2020, and now they have ‘Jessica’ to entertain our eardrums.
Following the relationship questioning EP Broken Pieces, Forgotten Garden retain their haunting questioning of human fragility in ‘Jessica’. Far more gothic and haunting than previous tracks, ‘Jessica’ weaves a post-punk meets pop thread into a synth-laden tapestry of sound. As I have noted, the haunting sound adds a lingering spine-chilling sensation but ‘Jessica’ is actually quite an empowering track. Once again, the pair explore the delicacy of a human soul but with a more optimistic outcome. It is this juxtaposition of tender melody and hopeful lyricism that showcases Forgotten Garden’s depth.
Touching on the issue of inner conflict, angst and fear, ‘Jessica’ discusses “…a woman’s search for inner peace after suffering domestic trauma.” What I find intriguing is how the flow of the melody evokes a heart-wrenching response, yet the movement to more languid harmonies aligns with the finding of inner peace. I know I said there is a juxtaposition of melody and lyricism, but there is also a sentimental melding of the two as the track progresses. To be honest, it doesn’t make that sense on paper and you really need to feel this song. ‘Jessica’ is far more a “feel” song exceeding any written word about the single. Fair warning: if you listen to Forgotten Garden you will definitely fall under their spell.