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Photo: Isak Jenssen

Norway’s acclaimed indie pop icon girl in red has returned after three years with her sophomore album, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!. The album is a testament to girl in red’s artistic arc, feeling entirely like a project for passion and exploration. 

Listeners are eased into the power-pop playground with “I’m Back,” an earnest intro that lightly narrates the artist’s current emotional landscape. It’s intentionally gentle in production, using atmospheric synth strings and graceful piano composition to deliver a heavy but hopeful message with a delicate hand. Heading into the album, we’re left with the resounding words, “The ups and downs and what-ifs / It’s all a part of being alive.” 

From here, girl in red dives into a colorful sampling of musical textures and styles. Across the album, she favors a bold guitar riff, like in “DOING IT AGAIN BABY,” which pairs the vocals and guitars as they scale a nimble melody. With a disco-leaning drum beat and the cascading vocal acrobatics, there’s a bit of an early 2000s indie rock jaunt to the track—ultimately just full of fun. “You Need Me Now?” features another spicy riff, this one featuring the ever-entertaining Sabrina Carpenter. girl in red stages a literal phone-a-friend, inviting Carpenter onto the bridge for a cheeky, flirtatious section. The artists play into the lighthearted sneer of the song, combining their complementary feminine empowerment. 

Other groovy standouts are “Ugly Side,” with its conversational percussion hits and bass combo, and “Phantom Pain,” which again nods to the summery, surf rock nostalgia of 2000s indie rock. “Phantom Pain” starts with a cinematic orchestration, though, tapping into another sonic facet of I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY!. It begins like a movie’s overture, with strings building across the soundscape. girl in red leans even further into the melodrama with chirping birds and chimes decorating a bridge sung in French—altogether very picturesque. It fits the stubborn adoration in the song, where girl in red sings, “I wish I never met you in the first place / My life would be much easier today / You’re a con, you’re an angel.”

There’s a plethora of cinematic moments arching throughout this impressive sophomore effort. “A Night to Remember” adopts a bit of a Sufjan Stevens piano, muted and haunting, but pairs it with a faint hyperpop beat, staying true to girl in red’s pop prowess. “Pick Me” is a classic piano ballad, eventually building up to a dreamscape of bubbly synths and wide harmonies. The vocals really soar on this track, and girl in red lets a growl grunge up her performance. Her voice shines on “New Love,” too, as the dynamic play gives her ample space to explore. I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! was made in collaboration with producer Matias Tellez, and his pop instincts are showcased here on “New Love.” He shifts seamlessly from euphoric highs full of intricate instrumental parts to sparse, soft-spoken lows. 

The album wraps up with a full circle moment in “Five Stars,” tying industrial production into a pop track breaking the fourth wall as it ponders the work done in this record. 

This long-awaited album expands upon the sound listeners have come to love from girl in red, embracing a tangible enjoyment of music and creativity that pours out of the tracks. Just in time for the changing of seasons, I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! is the mark of a new era for girl in red. 

Listen to I’M DOING IT AGAIN BABY! below: