The Forest Effect

The power of visualization looms large in the imaginative compositional mind of The Forest Effect’s primary songwriter, Elliot Page. The evocative and viscerally dynamic indie-rock artist looks to its band name as a conceptual beacon for songwriting and arranging. “I try to create an interplay of light and dark tones, like capturing the way the late-afternoon light filters through the layers of the forest,” says the Boston-based singer, guitarist, and educator.

The band—fronted by Elliot with a fluid membership of trusted musicians, including his right-hand man, keyboardist Ben Kuris—specializes in a modern version of stately classic rock with scene-setting lyrics, imaginative arrangements, virtuosic musicianship, and unforgettable hooks. They’ve been described as “if the guys from Dismemberment Plan met up at Wilco’s loft to play some Pink Floyd and The Black Crowes covers.”

The Forest Effect’s third EP, My Fractured Display, conjures the “light and shade” of the bold acoustic explorations on Led Zeppelin III through a modern lens. The band’s prior EPs—2017’s Photos on the Shelf and 2019’s Melody Left in Ruin—are darkly majestic, brimming with brawny alt rock-riffage and postmodern constructs. With its acoustic guitar and piano-driven sensibilities, My Fractured Display (2022) is a more accessible distillation of the band’s light/dark dichotomy. This latest EP—like the prior releases—is self-produced and mixed by tastemaking engineer Paul Q Kolderie (Radiohead, The Cure).

The Forest Effect’s tracks

• In The Wind by The Forest Effect
• Telling Me Off by The Forest Effect
• To A Heartbeat by The Forest Effect
• Darkening My Door by The Forest Effect
• Mosaic Tiles by The Forest Effect
• From The Otherside by The Forest Effect
• Out On The Mountainside by The Forest Effect