Mr Little Jeans has her eyes set on 2020 in politically charged new track, “Unfollow” premiering on THE FADER
October 18, 2018 BY Nettwerk
“Unfollow,” which, under its tropical-sounding guise, ruminates on a more high-stakes issue. Birkenes writes via email that the track was “something that had been rummaging around my head ever since Trump got elected.” – THE FADER
Norway’s Mr Little Jeans (Monica Birkenes) returns today with her politically charged track, “Unfollow“, premiering on THE FADER.
With glitchy textures and a slow-building bass line, the song has a breezy aesthetic, but carries a darker narrative that tells of the now LA based artist’s political frustrations. She explains -“Lyrically, ‘Unfollow’ was something that had been rummaging around my head ever since Trump got elected. The sinking feeling of this new, horrid reality is something I’ll never forget. I was completely unprepared for even the possibility of this happening, let alone how deeply this would depress and affect me. It brought to a harsh light how much of a bubble my closest and I had been living in.“
She continues, “It has been and continues to be a brutal wake-up call with severe repercussions for both our humanity and the environment. Unfollow is about the unrelenting mourning of losing Obama and the deep sadness and shame I felt for passively standing by while disaster happened.”
Mr Little Jeans recently released the brooding track, “Forgetter,” her first song in two years since the release of her critically acclaimed 2016 EP, F E V E R S, which saw her play a sold out tour across the United States. Since then, she’s been in and out of the studio, writing and recording her next full length effort.
Her breakout song was a moody and contemplative cover of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs,” which has gone on to rack up millions of plays across DSPs, but it was her first full length effort, Pocketknife, that saw Mr Little Jeans carve out her own lane. Blending Scandinavian cool with passionate narrative and lyrics, the 2014 LP had tastemakers falling head over heels for her sweeping melodies and garnered attention from NPR, FADER, NYLON and more and was scooped up to tour with SOHN across the United States. Her songs have been placed in movies like 21 Jump Street and shows like Gossip Girl and most recently, the trailer for Marvel’s Runaways.
Born and raised in the woodsy, seaside town of Grimstad, Norway, Mr Little Jeans spent her childhood immersed in music, be it the sounds of her mother’s guitar or Simon & Garfunkel records. She grew up in the church choir, learned piano and guitar, amassed singing competition wins throughout the Norse countryside. Absorbing early influences ranging from Mariah Carey, PJ Harvey and Massive Attack, she sublimated and synthesized the ability to sing in a way that makes you freeze, as though time was momentarily stopped and you’re unsure whether you want to dance or ruminate.
“Unfollow” is available now via Nettwerk Records.
