Personnel: Maria Mena (background vocals); Maria Mena (vocals); Vemund Stavnes (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, programming); Kjell Harald Litangen (acoustic guitar, baritone guitar); Borge Petersen-Overlier, Havard Caspersen (acoustic guitar); Steffen Isaksen (grand piano); David Wallumrod (Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ); Christian Nystrom (keyboards); Fredrik Wallumrod (bass guitar, drums); Borren Flyen (drums); Thomas Wohni (programming); Spectrasoncics, Miroslav Vitous (sampler); Elias Muri, Jarle Bernhoft (background vocals); Arvid Solvang (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, programming, background vocals); Celsius (keyboards, programming).
Audio Mixers: Arvid Solvang; Andrew Dawson; Ulf Holand.
Recording information: Blue Not Studio; Studio; Viagram Studio.
Photographers: Bjorn Opsahl; Susanne Cerha.
Unknown Contributor Role: Thomas Wohi.
Arranger: Arvid Solvang.
Only 18 when she recorded WHITE TURNS BLUE, Maria Mena was already a pop star in her mother's native Norway at the time of this 2004 debut. With a strong and supple vocal style, Mena serves up a dozen songs informed by delicate introspection that teens with old souls often possess. Producer Arvid Solvang serves as Mena's songwriting foil, and the duo comes up with well-constructed and memorable fare, while avoiding any slick production tricks. Right off the bat, this Norwegian-American establishes herself with "You're the Only One," a breathless, stream-of-consciousness confessional to a crush, bringing to mind the Cranberries.
Elsewhere, Mena uses a barroom piano to color the quirky "Lose Control," a composition reminiscent of a less precocious Nellie McKay. Allowing vulnerability to bubble up throughout this recording so easily, this teen emotes with the subtle ease of artists twice her age. The ethereal "My Lullaby," with its nod to Mena's parents' divorce (a song that was, amazingly, written when she was 11), drives a sensitive point home with a sound that falls somewhere between Dido and Alanis Morissette.
Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly (p.162) - "Mena delivers galvanizing melodies..." - Grade:B+
