Personal growth is an endless project, or rather, a lifelong project. I have learned this through my thirties, that every high in life has the possibility of being met with a low, and every low is also temporary. Perhaps as important as that realization; every opportunity to grow and learn must be taken. I fear finding myself in a state of self-assuredness that supersedes evidence, and so, each new path and piece of information that I absorb that improves my understanding of myself, others, and life is something to embrace wholeheartedly.
Each of those transitions can feel monumental, especially when you reflect on how much of a transition that it was. To look at a version of you in the past, perhaps ignorant, perhaps lovesick, perhaps in the throes of something crushing that life doled out, unrepentant and loathsome, and see just how far you have come is something to be proud of, to sing about, a milestone you didn’t know you were achieving. It is here that we find Marva Van Theo, an Athens based art pop duo that uses their collective background of classical and jazz music to craft electro-acoustic anthems. “The Woman I Left Behind” explores these kind of life transitions as their latest single and music video, anticipating their third album, We Were Never Lost, scheduled to be released late 2025. Check it out below!
“The Woman I Left Behind” begins with glockenspiel plucks that eventually start to glitch, revealing the synth-pop influences here. Vocalist Marva Voulgari seems to echo these skipping sounds with intermittent repetitive syllables in her soft, vulnerable lyricism. John Karabelas‘s music video shows this vulnerability with Voulgari laying and walking in a field. Yet as the cinematic strings kick in, we see her and musician Theo Foindidis in a studio shot, filled with heavy shadows and contrasting colored lighting juxtaposing the warm, flowing gradations of the field and sea reflected in the nature scenes.
As “The Woman I Left Behind” builds into its tremendous synth-pop glory, it becomes apparent that this song and video are a work of contrasts, representing newfound glory in the celebration and confidence that comes with life’s lessons and growth. Acoustic instruments clash with soaring synths. The vocals dance between softer passages and belting choruses, and Voulgari grows more animated and confident on screen with each passing bar of music. ‘Withdrawn from the woman I left behind/she keeps trying to remind me how to love,’ she sings, ‘says the order of things can be defied/even if all the endeavors seem futile, stay afloat,’ a remarkably profound reminder of breaking expectations.
The song itself transitions to heavier drums and synths from its more subdued beginnings, and “The Woman I Left Behind” becomes an emotive epic of self-transformation. If this is a preview of what’s to come on We Were Never Lost, then I am eagerly anticipating Marva Von Theo‘s new album. It is sure to be a late-year highlight, and I love getting my ears all gussied up in dreamy synth-pop.
Follow Marva Von Theo on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Bandcamp, or better yet, check out their website to stay tuned for more from this stunning band.
