EP Review: Lille Venn - ‘Whatever, Together’
Lille Venn releases her debut EP titled ‘Whatever, Together’. Turning her diary’s into 2000s pop-punk tracks.
Written in her childhood bedroom in Sandefjord, Norway during the pandemic, between 2019 and 2021. Lille Venn describes the EP as “the diary I kept while I was in the belly of the beast of grief and trying to find steady ground after having the rug ripped out from under me…diary entries about losing friends, family members, a sense of belonging and being in too deep to even ask for help.”
Opening the EP with the title track ‘Whatever, Together’ you can instantly hear the Avril Lavigne inspirations. Lille Venn is bringing back the 2000s pop-punk sound with beating drums and upbeat guitars, paired with moody lyrics. ‘I drive into a ditch with your ghost in the back of my car’ is a stand out lyric to me, which sums up this introductory song, instantly showing Lille Venn’s lyrical creativity.
‘I Blew My Friends Off!!’ follows, coming in with instant energy. A pop-punk song questioning if its a waste of ones youth spending time looking for love instead of enjoying moments with friends.
Covering heart-wrenching topics in both ‘What Would I do?’ and ‘Mourning Sickness’ Lille Venn still manages to capture a sense of sweetness and innocence. In the former she sings, “please pick up this time”. A simple lyric but executed perfectly to tug on the heart strings of listeners, who many can relate, desire and slight desperation to be loved all wrapped up in this one line.
Lille Venn also gifts us a track to take us back to the youthful innocence of childhood years, with a bedroom-pop inspired song “Sleepover Song’. Yearning to experience the joyful naivety of youth just one more time to escape the world that’s moving so fast around us.
A pop-rock song follows titled ‘Not D3@d’. The most pop inspired track from the album keeps an upbeat trajectory for the EP.
To close out the album we hear just Venn’s vocals paired with an acoustic guitar on ‘I Hate You, I Miss You’. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, “I’m calling you and your new girlfriend must hate me”. Lille Venn tells the story of struggling to get over somebody who was once so important in your life. Singing “I’m sixteen again”, encapsulating the feeling of experiencing heartbreak for the first time, wondering if will it ever get easier.
Lille Venn delivers an EP that takes us all back to youthful days of experiencing friendships, relationships and heartbreak whilst also reflection on growing up and fears that comes hand in hand with ageing. Showing off her impressive ability to elegantly articulate heavier themes, yet maintaining a positive outlook, resulted in a nostalgic and fun EP from Lille Venn.
Words by Anna Street
