Maria Mena has developed into a songwriter with a signature of her own. Her melodies have taken the form of beautiful ballads and catchy pop songs, with a power that reaches an audience far beyond Norway's borders. Her fifth album "Viktoria" brings together her ability to communicate on many levels. It is a consistently dark and […]
/ 31/03/2014 / codexMaria Mena has developed into a songwriter with a signature of her own. The melodies have taken the form of beautiful ballads and catchy pop songs, with a power that reaches an audience far beyond Norway's borders. Her fifth album "Viktoria" brings together her ability to communicate on many levels. There is a consistently dark and melancholic undertone in Mena's melodies. At the same time, they are distinctly beautiful. We hum along to the repeated phrases - melodious note sequences that stick in the ear upon first listening. Her lyrics, on the other hand, touch the pain threshold, are experienced as very personal, and go far beyond a conventional pop comfort zone. In this nervous balance of terror between music and lyrics, dangerous and alluring, burst or bear, Maria Mena shows her dimension and originality as a songwriter. She keeps her textual darkness in check with the warm accessibility of the melodies. Sophisticated arrangements preserve the simplicity of the melodies, but at the same time add an unpredictable and playful lightness to them. "Viktoria" is about the human struggle to reconcile with oneself. With this album, Maria Mena emerges as a mature, prominent figure in Norwegian music life.