Stockholm Syndrome artist spotlight: Mr. Little Jeans

by on April 10, 2012

Posted in: Uncategorized

There’s no actual mister in Mr. Little Jeans, the electropop solo project of Norwegian Monica Birkenes — she actually named her act after a character in the classic Wes Anderson film Rushmore (OMG). In 2011, Mr. Little Jeans covered Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” in a truly remarkable fashion, transforming the straightforward, Springsteen-ish piano rock of the Montreal indie rockers’ original anthem for the disillusioned into a sinister specter of a pop song, with a stale drum-machine sputtering along and creepy organs drifting up form the reverb’d deep. The result is strikingly fresh, and it was featured on (my…) Scandinavian-themed WRMC show “Stockholm Syndrome” this very evening; listen to and download it over at Pretty Much Amazing.

I bring it up because Mr. Little Jeans has recently released a new single, the original song “Runaway,” and it’s also pretty dang good — I suggest her to you now as a Scandinavian pop star to watch! The music blends New Wave and synthpop with witch house’s low end and the druggy haze of chillwave. Birkenes’s voice, though beautiful, sounds worn and weary — the content of her choice of Arcade Fire song to cover couldn’t be more appropriate to her sound! “Runaway” is sure to appeal to an even wider range of listeners than “The Suburbs” — it’s much faster, a gorgeous, lush anthem.

Check out the kinda gothed-out video for “Runaway” below, as well as the Spike Jonze-directed video for Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs,” and DEFINITELY watch that Rushmore link above.

RIYL: Phantogram, Washed Out

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