Mr Little Jeans drops album, Pocketknife

Swedish singer and songwriter Monica Birkenes, whose musical alias is Mr Little Jeans, just released her first solo album, Pocketknife, this past March.

The unique name she chose for her musical project is derived from the janitor character (Kumar Pallana) in Wes Anderson’s film, Rushmore, an interesting choice for the young Swedish musician who now lives in Los Angeles. Birkenes gained recognition after her 2011 cover of the Arcade Fire song, “The Suburbs,” as well as from her renditions of other popular songs by well-known artists, such as Beyoncé and Paul McCartney, went viral. This album is a strong step in her career.

Birkenes has a soft voice that has often been compared to that of artists like Lykkie Li, although Birkenes voice does not have the same slightly raspy quality of hers. Fans of MS MR, Little Dragon and Anya Marina will enjoy the light nature of Mr Little Jeans’ music. Easy to listen to and smooth, her songs can compliment any activity. In an interview with Beatjuice, she herself said the album is best heard anywhere, “bussing, biking, boating, tubing, walking, flying or frying ... up to you!”

The tracks on Pocketknife are immediately catchy and have a dreamy quality to them derived from the synthesis of silky vocals with soft bass and synth that changes as if in waves, drawing the listener in and out of the depths of the sound. “The Suburbs” is a particularly good example of this; soft electronic beats replace the strong instrumentation used in Arcade Fire’s original rendition. The songs are hardly to be compared; Mr Little Jean’s version has an ethereal quality while Arcade Fire’s is more strongly grounded.

“You always seemed so sure / that one day we’d be fighting in a suburban war / your part of town against mine / I saw you standing on the opposite shore,” she sings.

These lyrics can affect the listener, depending on the version they are listening to.

The fourth track on the album is particularly interesting and features the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Youth Chorale, which sings the chorus along with Monica Birkenes.

The album as a whole has a youthful and playful element to it exemplified in this song. The voices of the children are delicate similar to Birkenes’ and thus the pairing of the two sounds feels natural. When this pairing is blended with sweet pop instrumentation, the result is a polished and congruent whole.

The majority of the songs on the album share this kind of harmonization, and while some of Mr Little Jean’s lyrics may be edgy, the overall aura of the songs does not evoke emotional intricacy. The most emotionally tense track of the album is perhaps “Don’t Run,” which uses only sparse instrumentation at the start and focuses instead on the depth of Brikenes’ voice, which cruises easily through the song’s melodies and rhythms. As the song progresses, it becomes more intense instrumentally. The song evokes different emotional moods, ranging from a sense of helplessness to strength.

It is a shame that Pocketknife does not include all of the songs Birkenes has produced, songs that can be find on her Soundcloud or Youtube page. “Stones in the Attic” and “Back to the Start,” a song on the Iron Man soundtrack, are examples of songs that demonstrate the potential of Mr Little Jeans perhaps even more than some of the tracks actually included in the album.

The force of “Don’t Run” and the tracks not on this particular album suggests that Birkenes should experiment with a greater variety of emotional tones. But there is much time for Mr Little Jeans to develop and this is only the first full album she has released:

“Part of the goal was just making the album, to the best of my ability. I feel like I’ve done that, so the next part is, fingers crossed, that I get to keep doing what I love and make another album,” she responded in an interview with Yen Magazine.

The unique sound found in Pocketknife will surely evolve as Birkenes herself does, and the strength of this initial project promises great musical progression for future ones.