Lina Tullgren
“Bad At Parties”
Free Cell
This song really gets to me; I am just like this at parties: even when surrounded by a crowd, I feel as if I’m the only one. Tullgren sings songs full of pain and loneliness. They get it. They understand exactly how I feel. In fact, this is the best lonely song since Joni Mitchell’s “People’s Parties/Same Situation” or Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen”. It is not easy being alone in a crowd. No matter how ‘social’ you seem, inside you are screaming “hold me”. As their bio states:
Tullgren— originally from Maine but now Queens, New York-based —offers listeners a wider musical palette on this sophomore release, with lush arrangements that utilize strings, brass, and sculpted synths throughout.
I know it’s the softly strung/plucked guitar combined with Tullgren’s voice filled with remorse that makes this so memorable. Tullgren is my music of choice for late evenings when I feel no one understand. I am comforted because Lina Tullgren gets me.