By Drew Sitton

girl in red has gifted us another wonderfully melancholic song to see us through the changing seasons with ‘October Passed Me By’. The track is a follow-up to the Norwegian songwriter’s most popular song ‘We Fell In Love In October’, which was released in 2018 and quickly became a sapphic anthem.

Marie Ulven wrote ‘We Fell in Love in October’ about her first time dating another girl and the significance of this is heard throughout the song as she keeps repeating “you can be my girl, my girl, my girl, my girl” as if she had to keep repeating it to remind herself that it was real. As a relatively heartbreaking contrast to this, she ends her new track with the line “Always in the back of my mind, you’ll be my girl”. This follow-up song describes how the singer feels about that previous relationship now and how although October may just pass her by now, she is still filled with love and appreciation for that person and how they impacted her.

Ulven continues her theme of matching peaceful, folk-pop music with deeply personal lyrics that somehow still manage to be relatable for her listeners. Since beginning to put out music in her teens, the 23-year-old has gained a loyal fan base who admire her honesty when writing about her experience both with being queer and struggling with mental health issues. 

The single was written and produced with the help of The National’s Aaron Dessner, whose influence and personal style can be heard throughout the song if you have any experience with his previous works. It was recorded at Long Pond Studio, which is also where Dessner worked with Taylor Swift on her albums Folklore and Evermore. 

The subtle harmonies and wind-like sound effects make this song perfect for every “sad girl autumn” playlist and a comfortable fit for an indie teen movie. The track is set to be accompanied by a short film that will be released today starring Norwegian actresses’ Lisa Loven Kongsli and Ruth Vega Fernandes. Ulven released a teaser for the short film last night and it is something I would highly recommend looking out for.