![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/forest-bees-album-cover.jpg?fit=300%2C300\")
Forest Bees is the moniker of Sheetal Singh, former bassist for noise-pop band The Stratford 4. This solo project was inspired in part by Singh\u2019s desire to explore her identity on her own terms, not those imposed upon her by society. Her new sound profile differs greatly from that of The Stratford 4, a gritty and dissonant spin on shoegaze that is as uncomfortable as it is beautiful.<\/p>\n
Of course, Forest Bees<\/em> is not supposed to make listeners feel at ease. The five-track EP provides an introspective glimpse into genuine personal issues that most people simply don\u2019t wish to address. Singh, however, does not hold back. She unhesitatingly delves into topics such as post-partum depression, spousal neglect, and the struggle of reconciling with her Indian-American ethnicity.<\/p>\n Singh\u2019s initial intention was to incorporate her heritage into her music, but Forest Bees evolved into something more: a memoir of being an older woman of color\u2014nonetheless a wife and mother\u2014in the contemporary music industry. The frustration and trials of this identity are evident in the music. In \u201cHollow Bones,\u201d arguably the EP\u2019s most chilling track, Singh keens, \u201cI can see in the break of dawn that my best days have gone.\u201d Whether this line references Singh\u2019s musical glory days or her youth, it conveys an extremely powerful sentiment.<\/p>\n Singh\u2019s honeyed, crooning voice reverberates ambiently in a sea of synth-y riffs, Bollywood beats, harsh noise, and smooth guitar. The vocals are sometimes slightly off-key, but this seems to be purposeful. Indeed, this artistic choice puts the listener on edge, drawing the ear in and placing more emphasize on the lyrics\u2014which might otherwise be lost in the background sounds. Sheetal Singh’s solo project explores multiple facets of self-identity over surreal shoegaze instrumentation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20842,"featured_media":65635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3235,181],"tags":[8002,7712,3367],"class_list":["post-65634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-rock-rotation","tag-forest-bees","tag-jaya-chakka","tag-rock-rotation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/forest-bees-album-cover.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20842"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRecommended If You Like: Bat for Lashes, Lykke Li, Grimes
\nRecommended Tracks: 1 (Independence Day), 2 (Hollow Bones), 5 (Dust)
\nDo Not Play: None
\nWritten by Jaya Chakka on 02\/06\/2018 <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"