Tuvaband – Growing Pains & Pleasures

Label: Passion Flames
Released: 21st May 2021

Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer Tuvaband has a tight vision, playing with genres and her voice to great effect. ‘Growing Pains & Pleasures’ is a timely album about trying to find your way, fuelled by both changes in yourself and the world around you – the stress of realising you’re not the same person you once were.

Moody indie-rock songs like ‘I Think’ are eerily atmospheric while simultaneously indulging in fluorescent pop. ‘Post Isolation’, meanwhile, perhaps best encapsulates the record, portraying Tuva’s return to the world of other people, where she’s stalked by her own fears. The track is a clear standout, with Tuva conjuring up a sweeping backdrop of soft guitars, swaying in wavelike rhythm, creating a simple, stripped-back sonic landscape for her vocals to make it a home in this post-isolation world.