Written by Jennifer Moglia
Although she has been making music for years, Marie Ulven, better known as Girl in Red, reached new heights in 2019 and 2020. Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, her name became synonymous with being open and proud of your sexuality, especially for queer women.
Her songs like “we fell in love in october”, “bad idea!”, “girls”, and “i wanna be your girlfriend” became anthems for young women exploring their sexuality and becoming comfortable with being their true, authentic selves. Despite how far the world has come in terms of being accepting towards members of the LGBT+ community, it’s still somewhat rare to hear love songs that are blatantly about same-sex couples; Ulven is one of the few who is closing this gap.
Continuing her streak of discussing topics that many tend to stigmatize, Girl in Red released a new single titled “Serotonin” earlier this month, which touches on her struggles with mental health. While it’s nothing new for musicians to write and sing about their feelings, Ulven makes specific mention to things like mental illness and medication that some shy away from.
Produced by FINNEAS, known for working with artists like Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello as well as his younger sister Billie Eilish, sonically “Serotonin” is a departure from Girl in Red’s previous work on projects like “chapter 1” and “chapter 2.” The track shifts between light, airy instrumentals and trap-influenced beats as Ulven’s vocals change from her usual singing to rap-like delivery.
The song opens with its chorus, delivering brutally honest lines about mental illness right off the bat. She sings, “I'm running low on serotonin / Chemical imbalance got me twisting things / Stabilize with medicine...can't hide / From the corners of my mind / I'm terrified of what's inside.”
Phrases like this paint a hauntingly beautiful picture of the reality of living with mental health struggles, pulling no punches as she does so. This theme continues into the first verse, as Ulven tackles violently intrusive thoughts, feeling like her therapist hates her, coping mechanisms that don’t seem to work, constantly feeling broken, and even “crying like a fucking baby.”
It would’ve been easy for Girl in Red to dance around difficult topics like this, but facing them head-on makes this lyrical content so unique. The second verse focuses on the worst parts of these feelings, attempting to contain them or brush them off when you really feel drained.
The song ends with an audio clip spoken in Norwegian where Ulven is talking about how she physically feels like she’s dying, as if her heart stopped beating and her body suddenly got heavy. According to Genius, this is a recording from an actual doctors’ appointment that she went to, making the song that much more personal.
“Serotonin” is a candid, sometimes scary, take on mental illness and mental health, which undoubtedly has been resonating with Girl in Red’s audience of young people looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. If the rest of her new record is anything like this, it’s sure to be a hit.
Girl in Red’s new single “Serotonin” is available to stream wherever you listen to music, and you can support her by picking up some merch (including pre-orders for her upcoming album “If I Could Make it Go Quiet”) and following her on Twitter @_GirlInRed_. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @lgndsoftmrw to be notified when our full review of the new LP is live on April 30th, 2021!