On her upcoming album How Did I Wind Up Here? (out October 17 via Koke Plate), Oslo-based artist Jouska—aka Marit Othilie Thorvik—ushers listeners into a dreamstate of haunting vulnerability. Her new single “Pierced.” is an aching, hypnotic meditation on the discomfort of being perceived, born from a deeply personal tension between the desire for visibility and the fear of exposure.
Jouska’s alt-pop doesn’t just whisper—it confesses. How Did I Wind Up Here? plays like a sensitive journal cracked open under moonlight, every page saturated with grief, guilt, and flickers of clarity. This isn’t bedroom pop for casual comfort—it’s for those late-night hours when you’re unraveling. “Pierced.” reflects that unraveling, weaving fragile layers of noise rock, shoegaze, and Massive Attack-style trip-hop into something intimate yet immersive.
Thorvik’s voice is all her own: enchanting, tremulous, and unwaveringly honest. The arrangement on “Pierced.” is minimal yet thick with atmosphere—looping like a mantra, pulsing with an eerie sensuality. With contributions from partner Hans Olav Settem, Elias Tafjord (Sassy 009), and Bård Kristian Kylland (Giddygang), the track drifts through shadows but never loses its shape.
There’s a reason critics describe Jouska as “wading through a dream,” “gorgeous and contemplative,” and “alt-pop that feels like a quiet scream.” On How Did I Wind Up Here?, she doesn’t just sing—she exposes. And it’s impossible not to feel it.