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Oct 10, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Magdalena Malinowska

Thea Glenton Raknes first debuted as Thea & The Wild with her 2014 record, Strangers In The Wild. Since then, she returned with the arena-ready indie pop of her follow-up, Ikaros, earning acclaim from tastemakers in her native Norway. However, the years since have marked a shift in both Thea’s life and songwriting. She recently uprooted her life from Oslo to the Norwegian countryside and since then her latest musical efforts have been imbued with a softer touch born of her new surroundings.

These moments of vivid beauty come to the forefront with Thea’s newly released album, Deadheading, out everywhere now. Deadheading takes its name from the practice of cutting away dead flowers to allow for new bloom, and it seems an apt metaphor for the record itself. There is a bright naturalistic undertone running beneath the jangly guitars and charming harmonies of tracks like “Poison Apple,” or “Misery Mountain.” Elsewhere, Thea leans into rock edges with “The Moment” or soaring anthems such as “Rip Tide.”

The results are not necessarily stripped back, as Thea’s talent for instantly catchy melodies and colorful instrumentation remains thoroughly intact. Rather, these moments feel more vibrant, hopeful, and authentic than ever before, as if Thea herself is entering full bloom ensconced in the Norwegian countryside.

As she explains, “When we moved out to the countryside we took over a small red cottage with a beautiful garden that the previous owner had clearly put a lot of love into. I wanted to do it justice so I threw myself at the challenge and googled and youtubed gardening tips as well as getting a lot of help and advice from my grandmother and kind neighbours. I find planting, weeding and tending to the garden extremely soothing and it’s so nice to be able to spend a lot of time outside. It’s creative too, but there’s no pressure and my mind can wander while I’m doing it. Lyrics can be finished, melodies can be perfected and I get lots of new ideas while I’m digging around in the dirt, having little conversations with the bugs and the birds.

One of the gardening tips I learned was the importance of Deadheading, to cut off waning flowers to encourage new bloom. It’s a pretty brutal act but necessary if you want a healthy looking plant. It made me think of how life is often like that, you need to take chances and make some hard choices to keep moving forward even though the status quo can feel safe and warm. This album is about transitions, becoming an adult, finding your way and trying to stay sane in the process.”

Check out the full album below, out everywhere now.