Marie Ulven is a Norwegian teen that is making a name for herself in the indie scene. For the last couple of years, Ulven, 20, has made spunky, raw indie-pop songs about wanting new love, and the voyage of when it’s unachievable, and anthems for coming to age, under the name  girl in red. Her sound is a mix of her soft vocals and humble background instrumentals. This was one of the most intimate albums I have ever listened to.

Each song is interlaced with her own experiences with being queer, dealing with mental health, and just being a teenage in this society. This album is like a sneak peek into her diary and gets her raw unfiltered thoughts through her lyrics, many of which are touched with her sarcastic remarks. She’s on brand with the bedroom pop that’s becoming increasingly popular in the US. Her debut album was bold entrance as an unapologetically truthful artist. I like songs like “i wanna be your girlfriend” because it’s just an honest look at her experience with unrequited love. Music like this just reminds you how human we all are, that many of us live the same experiences and go through similar situations. I wish more music was like this, just made you feel normal or proud of musicians for being vulnerable. 

In the last year, girl in red’s music has bubbled up from occasional uploads on SoundCloud and Bandcamp as a hobby  into a growing phenomenon; Ulven has more than a million monthly listeners on Spotify despite having only 10 songs posted there. She is currently on her first American tour, warming up crowds for Conan Gray. She credits her success to a more welcoming pop music climate for gay artists, a progressive path in the last couple years that paved a way to mainsteam media with stars like Janelle Monáe “Sam Smith, longtime gay performers like Tegan and Sara, and rising artists like Troye Sivan, Hayley Kiyoko and King Princess, among many others.” Marie Ulven has set the stage for herself and I can’t wait to listen to more.