Establishing the mood with cosmic electric piano and vinyl texture, Merete Mongstad opens Pull Yourself Together with cinematic allure and situational, self-reflective prose as she sings, “I’m walking slowly, sky’s weighing me down, wake up sleepy brain, you’re a merri-go-round, I know what they’re thinking, should be trying harder, hiding in my make up, should have been smarter, pull yourself together…”

The hook and title of the track resonates like a self-critical mantra. This feels raw, real and authentic. It’s super relatable, and how many of us truly feel, but intentionally it is designed and delivered with a bigger purpose. We deeply connect with the trip-hop sensibilities of the track, and could imagine that fans of Morcheeba, Portishead, Zero 7 and Massive Attack would be able to connect with what Merete Mongstad has created.

There is no doubt that Pull Yourself Together would be perfect for a sync placement in a Luca Guadagnino or Sofia Coppola film or a TV show like The Day of the Jackal or the more psychedelic and healing, Nine Perfect Strangers. The production is sublime, the stripped-back middle eight leaves tension before the final reprise, and we connect with the high emotional quotient of the string arrangement.

What makes the track even more affecting is the story behind it. We learn that Merete Mongstad explores the reality of invisible illness and the pressure of appearing fine when, internally, you’re struggling to keep everything together. The title takes on a whole new meaning in that context. It is less an instruction and more an accusation we place upon ourselves when we feel we’re failing to function as we’re “supposed” to.

She says, “Invisible illness is often subconsciously misjudged as weakness or laziness, with people assuming you just need to “pull yourself together.” The truth is, you’ve usually been pulling yourself together for a really long time- until you finally broke trying to hide it. For a while, I felt like I was falling slowly, watching everything crumble without any power to stop it. This is my way to stop hiding. Acceptance and hope are necessary to find a way forward, and it feels truly liberating to finally be open about it.”

The artist’s background as a professional sound designer for film, theatre and art is evident, with the track feeling carefully constructed almost like a scene from a film. We also love how the song balances vulnerability with a genuine sense of hope.

Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Pull Yourself Together to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlist, whilst we anticipate future releases from Merete Mongstad, including her next single, Is It Me? andself-titled EP The Silence Is Out Of Tune on October 15.

The post Merete Mongstad explores invisible illness, self-criticism and the pressure to appear fine through cinematic trip-hop on Pull Yourself Together appeared first on KIMU.