Norwegian singer girl in red is back with her long-awaited album ‘if i could make it go quiet‘.
Originally a homemade bedroom-pop star, 22-year-old Marie Ulven has blossomed over the past three years since her arrival as an alternative artist. She has stated that her new album is “An attempt to learn what it’s like to be human, to deal with the scariest parts of myself, to live with the pain of knowing I’m only flesh and bones“.
This is exactly what we hear in singles like ‘You Stupid Bitch‘. It has a hint of Avril Lavigne angst, bringing a brilliant diversity to the album. The fast tempo and unapologetic side to Ulven is refreshing and showcases her emotional vulnerability. The direct nature of the lyrics almost makes us feel like we were involved in the relationship:
“You stupid bitch,
Can’t you see?
The perfect one for you is me”.
‘Did you Come?‘ disrupts the delicacy we are used to hearing from Ulven, contrasting heavily to previous hits ‘I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend‘ and ‘we fell in love in october‘. Instead, we hear of Ulven’s confrontation of a cheating partner. ‘Did You Come?’ at first sounds optimistic, with bouncy piano chords and a light melody. It soon turns sour in the chorus with heavy insense guitar riffs. What better way to get back at a cheating partner than creating a song and ‘@ing them?
Single ‘Rue‘ was released in September, based on the character Rue from HBO’s Euphoria. It has a melancholic intensity similar to ‘midnight love‘, another track released previously as a single. girl in red has an honest openness to her songwriting and production on this album, taking us through a not-so-private relationship. ‘Body and Mind‘ really shows Ulven’s emotional vulnerability: a catchy track with a heavy beat that you can’t help but sing along to. ‘Serotonin‘ was produced by FINNEAS, revealing her experiences living with OCD. The single arrived just in time for summer, with catchy guitar riffs and echoing drums heard throughout an indie-pop chorus. This track clearly delves into a more alternative and creative side of Ulven.
This 11 song album takes us through every emotion possible, leaving us feeling almost overwhelmed by the time we reach the final track. ‘it would feel like this‘ is 80 seconds of instrumental strings and piano, closing the album gracefully.
Some songs are repetitive at times, and lack the oomph of the more energetic singles. ‘if i could make it go quiet’ shows how Ulven is truly feeling, and she makes no apology for doing so. Some may say she is taking a more conventional, mainstream pop route in her sound, but as we have heard, a lot has happened in her life since the self-produced days in her bedroom. We see a different side to the normally-so-romantic Ulven, but in this new release, we experience her true creativity and influences from surrounding artists. Could the angsty-pop genre be a new-found route for Ulven?
