Luna Morgenstern has a crystalline vision of who she is… and she’s ready for you to see it. In 2021, she announced the release of her debut EP Taking The Blow, which is preceded by the single ‘In My Head’ and its accompanying video.
The new single ‘In My Head’ is an elegy heightened by COVID-xiety, a self-therapy session triggered by the panic and sudden stillness of the pandemic. Luna shares: “I wrote this song at the beginning of the first lockdown, I felt trapped and started to reflect on how I dealt with the loss of my mother. It’s about trying to escape yourself and your own thoughts, and at the same time coping with the inability to do so. It expresses a deep wish for a feeling of (temporary) relief.”
The track is accompanied by a cinematic video, co-conceptualised by Luna. Speaking about the video, Luna says: “When working on the concept for the video to ‘In My Head’, I wanted to portray the struggle of a young woman, lost and avoiding her feelings. This song addresses the denial of my own grief, escaping into nights of excess in order to numb the pain. With the video, I drew on that experience, being emotionally unstable, unintentionally irresponsible and putting myself at risk. It’s a trippy night out, blurring the lines between what is real and just in my head.”
Luna takes risks. Following the loss of her mother, Luna found herself drained and unable to write, so she took a job as a music producer at a music agency specialising in advertising. “I was constantly working overtime, no weekends, no personal life at all,” she explains. “I just didn’t really know who I was anymore.” Briefly compromising her creativity had a visceral reaction in her, so she stopped. It was a case of all or nothing. The creation of Taking The Blow was an act of liberation, and you can hear it in every decibel.
Luna’s influences are forward-thinkers; SOPHIE, Caroline Polachek, FKA twigs, Charli XCX. Taking The Blow has eyes on joining this league; vivid electronic soundscapes combined with hooky toplines and a grimy rhythm section. It’s finessed power pop that lives in the future and playfully beckons the listener to catch up.
In spite of its colossal sound, Taking The Blow is intimate in subject matter. Nothing is off limits; she talks us through an immense fight with her father over her pursuit of a career as a solo artist (‘Done’), craving the affection of a partner (‘Tonight’ featuring a Breakfast at Tiffany’s interpolation) and the loss of her mother (‘In My Head, Taking The Blow’ and ‘Nobodylovesmelikeyoulovedme’). Her words are raw and sincere throughout, leaving the listener with a piece of her.