Photo: Siri Granheim

Tulle examines the consequences of lost love and a splintered heart on “Godforsaken City”

Norwegian musician Tulle spent much of 2022 examining morbidity on previous singles “Dead Dead Dead” and “Blood On Your Hands“, but the 23-year-old singer doesn’t find joy in the darkness — she just doesn’t shy away from the realities of love and the complications of faded relationships. Offering what she calls “death-pop”, Tulle has broken down a myriad of influences including Phoebe Bridgers, Lorde, and Glass Animals in  bid to discover new ways to explore the shadows of affection.

She has announced the upcoming release of her debut EP, The Death, though we’ve yet to receive confirmation of exactly when it will be available. To tide us over, we’ve been given a new single called “Godforsaken City”, which is a continuation of her descent into the darkness surrounding love and its ugly aftereffects. Written with Gunnar Kristin Jonsson and Elin Sundberg (with additional production from Truls Andersen and Jens Wik), the song feels like a half-remembered dream, the kind that plagues your subconscious in the moments just before waking. Her brand of pop music is filled with crumbling melodies, haunting vocals, and a thumping emotional vulnerability. It’s gorgeous and heartbreaking and documents the terrible things we do to one another. And it will linger for hours in your mind, tumbling around and knocking against the defenses you’ve built to protect those private places you’ve never revealed to anyone. 

It’s a melancholic song about how it feels when somebody breaks your heart in a place you love so much,” says Tulle. “When they leave you, the whole city loses colour, and you’re left on your own with half a heart.

Listen to the song below.

Tulle’s upcoming EP, The Death, is due out sometime soon. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.