Norwegian darkwave-inflected indie-electronic outfit Rule of Two have dropped their new single, “Dolores“. It’s the fourth in a run of singles leading up to their debut album this fall, followed by a series of Norwegian live shows.
“Dolores” is a dynamic and emotionally layered indie/electronica track. Structured around shifting builds and drops, it captures self-doubt and the internal pull between trust and manipulation.
Both musically and lyrically, it plays out like a Jekyll & Hyde story—melancholic melodies woven into groovy loops, echoing the moods of 80s synthpop while nodding toward early 2000s emo-hardcore.
The lyrics reflect this emotional tension directly:
“Unanswered questions
Inventions of truth
Suffering in solitude
Is this a trick or some kind of treat
Fable or myth?
(But) Do I wanna know?
I wanna know
no”
The chorus continues to peel at the illusion of safety and clarity:
“That’s what you tell yourself
how you need things to play out
To keep innocence at bay
Is that how you manage to sleep at night
That’s how you’re keeping sane
How you’re keeping it unreal
Keeping it unreal”
Flissundet’s line, “Only healthy hearts may break / And only shattered hearts may heal”, sits at the thematic core—suggesting the contradictions needed to survive emotional collapse.
“Dolores” was written by Rule of Two, with lyrics by Ronny Flissundet. It was produced and mixed by Kristian Liljan, and recorded between MIR in Oslo and Crystal Island in Nesodden. The music video, also created by Liljan, is premiering right here in this article.
With “Dolores,” Rule of Two continue building a dense emotional and visual catalog—leaning into contradiction, artificiality, and inner monologue without smoothing the edges. The single sits comfortably among their previous releases, but opens a more raw, internal perspective—less atmospheric, more fractured, more direct.
