Norwegian-French duo Tic Tic reenters the scene with “While the Shadows Grow”, their latest single and the first preview of their upcoming second album. Known for balancing eerie synth tension with organic elements, this track leans into a new tonal direction: still somber, but with sharper edges and more physical textures.
“While the Shadows Grow” opens with a persistent guitar riff that carves through a haze of icy synths. It’s both haunting and oddly warm, like standing under a flickering streetlamp in freezing rain. Irene Svendsen’s voice doesn’t try to soothe: it quietly confesses. She doesn’t push, but she doesn’t flinch either. Her phrasing floats just ahead of the beat, slightly aloof yet undeniably present.
This time, the band pulls their rhythm from somewhere deeper: maybe not darker, but definitely heavier. The track isn’t fast, but it doesn’t sit still. The guitar is dry and direct, like a memory cutting through static. Layered over that is a pulse of synth that breathes rather than drives. You can feel the influence of artists like Massive Attack or Depeche Mode, but Tic Tic’s take is colder, more isolated.
Lyrically, the song focuses on the emotional chain reactions between people: how the weight someone carries can quietly pass into the lives around them. It’s personal but never indulgent. The setting: a bleak Christmas Eve: feels honest rather than melodramatic, fitting the duo’s style. They keep the production raw, resisting any urge to clean the edges or make things comfortable.
This is music that would slot effortlessly into a slow-burning Nordic thriller or a psychological drama. It carries tension without spectacle. You can imagine it humming under a character’s silent breakdown or the last scene before something irreversible.
Tic Tic hasn’t abandoned their roots: they’ve just stripped them down and let them show.
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