''If I Could Make It Go Quiet'' (stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) is the debut studio album by Norwegian musician

Girl in Red Marie Ulven Ringheim (born 16 February 1999) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her indie pop project Girl in Red (stylized as girl in red). Her early EPs ''Chapter 1'' (2018) and ''Chapter 2'' (2019) were recorded i ...

, released independently through

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and indepen ...

and her own World in Red label on 30 April 2021, after being delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. It was primarily produced by the musician herself alongside Matias Tellez and features additional production from

Finneas O'Connell Finneas Baird O'Connell (born July 30, 1997), known mononymously as Finneas ( stylized in all caps), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has written and produced music for various artists, most notably his sister, ...

. Sonically, it has been described as a more ambitious, mature, and developed continuation of the musician's previous

bedroom pop Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

musical style established in the early EPs ''Chapter 1'' (2018) and ''Chapter 2'' (2019). Lyrically, the singer has described the record as an "emotional recap" of the year 2020 in which she explores her personal

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

experiences as well as "the different sides of love".

Critical reception

''If I Could Make It Go Quiet'' received mostly positive reviews from music critics, praising the vocal performance, songwriting, lyrical content, production and visual style for the album. Some critics felt that the album was Girl in Red's best work to date. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 77 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Background and release

In late 2019 and early 2020, Girl in Red began continuously teasing and hinting at the phrase "World in Red". She told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' in September 2019 that this would be the title of her debut album which would be released in October 2020, and that 2020 would be her year of "world domination", but this plan was spoiled due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the music industry Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

. She told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' in April 2020, that "[the

] ain't gonna stop ''World In Red'', baby!" In April 2020, the single "Midnight Love" was released as the lead single and first taste from what was then deemed Girl in Red's debut album. "Rue" was released as the second single in August 2020. " Serotonin" was released as the third single soon after the album's announcement on social media in early March 2021. The official album cover was revealed with this announcement to be a painting by Norwegian artist Fredrik Wiig Sørensen. "Serotonin" premiered as Irish DJ

Annie Mac Annie Mac (born 18 July 1978), is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, including hosting her AMP (Annie Mac Presents ...

's Hottest Record on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, where Girl in Red herself deemed it "the biggest track he'sever put out" and "the best track hehas ever written or produced". "Apartment 402" was featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 22.

Recording, concept and composition

The record was primarily produced by Girl in Red and Norwegian musician Matias Tellez, making it the first time in the former's career that she has worked with a record producer other than herself. The album's second single, "Rue", was inspired by the titular fictional character for the American TV series ''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and dan ...

'', while its third single, "Serotonin", also features additional production from American record producer

. The latter deemed it "one of the coolest songs

e had E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plur ...

ever heard" and revealed that he was "thrilled that egot to be a part of it." Girl in Red revealed to ''

'' that she's "definitely confronting erelf on this album" and described the record as "cohesive". She also told ''

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

'' about her plans and ambitions for the album's rollout and recording, noting that it "promises a more developed and mature sound." The song "Serotonin" explores her personal struggles with

intrusive thought An intrusive thought is an unwelcome, involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate. When such thoughts are associated with obsessive-compul ...

s which she claimed to have experienced for over 10 years. Sonically, ''If I Could Make It Go Quiet'' is an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

album with elements of

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, R&B, new wave,

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and piano balladry.

Track listing

Notes * "." is pronounced as period

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2021 debut albums Girl in Red albums Albums produced by Finneas O'Connell Albums produced by Girl in Red Albums produced by Matias Tellez AWAL albums Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the music industry Cultural responses to the COVID-19 pandemic