Artists who play the Tiny Desk aren't always sure what they're getting into. "I wasn't expecting it to be in a big building," girl in red's Marie Ulven tells the NPR crowd. "I thought I was going to go into a little house or something."

Any confusion aside, Ulven and her band deliver a set suitable for the kind of cozy space she imagined, one of genuine charm, good humor and unbridled joy — a vibe that girl in red has always cultivated through music. She can find cause for celebration even in life's bleakest moments, like when Ulven and the band deploy rapid-fire handclaps during a song about the emptiness of unrequited love ("Phantom Pain") or the way she says "Depression!" with a smile and a cheerleader's fist in the air just before "Summer Depression." "It's a normal thing to feel like this," she sings, offering a much-needed dose of warmth and empathy on what was an otherwise chilly, overcast day in Washington, D.C.

SET LIST

  • "Phantom Pain"
  • "Summer Depression"
  • "Too Much"
  • "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" 

MUSICIANS

  • Marie Ulven: vocals, guitar
  • Martin Dybal: guitar, music director
  • Henrik Bakken: bass
  • Bror Brorson: guitar
  • Erlend Hisdal: drums
  • Viljar Dunđerović: keys, piano

TINY DESK TEAM

  • Producer: Robin Hilton
  • Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
  • Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
  • Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
  • Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Zayrha Rodriguez
  • Audio Engineer: Josh Newell
  • Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
  • Photographer: Sofia Seidel
  • Tiny Desk Team: Lars Gotrich, Maia Stern
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
  • Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
  • VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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