What does nostalgia sound like to a generation that has never quite known a world offline? For Dublin collective Bricknasty, the answer lies somewhere between the soulful familiarity of 2000s R&B and the pixelated futurism of old PS2 soundtracks. Their fourth project, forever, explores musical contradiction: it feels analogue yet digital, organic yet technological and familiar yet entirely unknown. Across its seven tracks, forever navigates the boundaries of alternative R&B, drawing on Irish musical identity, Y2K aesthetics and experimental production. The result is a project that feels like a generation’s memory rendered in sound. Curated from a childhood spent navigating pixelated digital worlds, forever is reimagined through the technological possibilities of the present.
Bricknasty opens the EP with the title track, ‘forever’, establishing a sound rooted in the melodic conventions of classic R&B. A playful guitar riff dances over a nostalgic drum-machine beat, its familiar rhythms recalling the golden age of the early 2000s. Anonymous lead vocalist Fatboy delivers his idiosyncratic storytelling with the occasional Dublin inflexion, grounding the track in distinct Irish identity. His delivery sounds refreshingly unpolished against the track’s more technologically textured production, providing an organic warmth that prevents the experimentation from feeling sterile. It is an introduction that feels both intimate and expansive.
‘lost my words’ draws more heavily on the soulful nature of the 2000s, its verses gliding with an almost effortless sense of nostalgia. The anticipation is broken by a chorus that erupts into grittier guitar riffs and pounding basslines, as though the track briefly tears through its own nostalgic veneer to reveal a deeper subsurface caked in abrasion. This interplay between familiarity and disruption becomes one of the EP’s defining characteristics. Bricknasty understand the emotional pull of childhood but are seemingly uninterested in remaining confined by it.
Where the opening tracks establish a more recognisable R&B foundation, forever’s three singles venture into more experimental territory. ‘the dom perignons’, Bricknasty’s most recent single, is perhaps the clearest example of this shift. Zesty electronic synths intertwine with hopeful violin strings, while an undeniably danceable hook shimmers beneath glossy, metallic production. ‘the dom perignons’ is steeped in the conventions of vintage hip-hop without feeling like an exercise in imitation. Instead, Bricknasty polish these familiar influences into something more cosmic. Spacey sound effects are scattered across the track, transporting the listener into forever’s melodic galaxy. Compared to the collective’s 2025 album, BLACKS LAW, this track feels more mature and refined, retaining its youthful exuberance while demonstrating a greater command of stellar and sonic restraint.
‘bobinov’ ventures further into the collective’s alternative R&B sensibilities. Perhaps the most contemporary-sounding track on forever, it still carries the unmistakable fingerprints of youth. Punchy, bass-heavy production distinguishes the track from its predecessors, introducing an indie, bedroom-pop sensibility that feels deliberately more intimate. Drawing on the collective’s experiences touring overseas, the track is tailor-made for the live setting; its club-leaning percussion and infectious energy demand movement. But beneath its restless exterior lies a more vulnerable emotional core, exploring longing, patience and the uncertainties of human connection. Indie instrumentation collides with dancefloor rhythms, creating a psychedelic fusion that feels like R&B staring through a distorted mirror. It is simultaneously rough-edged and carefully considered, demonstrating Bricknasty’s ability to make bedroom-born experimentation feel expansive. If forever’s opening tracks feel like revisiting an old memory, ‘bobinov’ sounds like watching that memory dissolve into something entirely new.
The collective invites Galway-born Dove Ellis to feature on ‘G unit’, offering a moment of relative stillness amid the EP’s restless landscape. Drawing on South Asian musical scales and sitar-like string textures, the track pairs distinctive instrumentation with traditional hip-hop drum patterns, recalling the adventurous production reminiscent of artists like Timbaland and Dr Dre. This cultural intersection adds another dimension to an already richly textured project. Ellis delivers a performance steeped in subtle desperation, his vibrato lingering just beyond the expected cadence, allowing tension and yearning to accumulate between phrases. Stepping away from his familiar indie-folk soundscape, Ellis inhabits Bricknasty’s loose R&B framework with ease. His voice lends the track a delicate emotional weight. It is an unlikely but captivating collaboration, another testament to the collective’s appetite for experimentation. There is something particularly endearing about hearing the familiar conventions of R&B refracted through an Irish lens. In doing so, Bricknasty create something difficult to imitate and, more importantly, unlikely to be mistaken for anybody else.
forever possesses the spontaneity of something assembled in a bedroom, surrounded by discarded gaming consoles, tangled cables and outdated technology. Yet its composition reveals a remarkably articulate and refined understanding of sound. Beneath solar synths, distorted textures and danceable percussion lies a distinctly soulful energy. The EP is at its most compelling when Bricknasty resist the temptation to settle into one musical identity. In this sense, forever is less concerned with revisiting the past than reconfiguring it. In Bricknasty’s hands, nostalgia is not just a destination but a starting point.
Bricknasty: forever – Out 4 November 2026 (FAMM)
