We fell in love with Norwegian singer Mr Little Jeans (real name: Monica Birkenes) a few years back when she released a striking – and somewhat haunting – cover of “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire. She followed that with an excellent dance track “Runaway” and we hear the singer, now based in LA will have a FULL album ready in late June.

We can’t wait, especially since the kick off single has been a mainstay on our airwaves for over a month now. I’ve gotten calls, emails and texts from folks trying to track down this song and we are super excited to offer it as a KCRW exclusive!

Stream “Oh Sailor (Feat. Silverlake Conservatory Of Music Youth Chorale)”

The song, along with her cover of Paul McCartney’s “Waterfalls, will be out in Mid-April. Her forthcoming full-length debut—recorded and produced by Tim Anderson (Ima Robot, Dead Man’s Bones) here in LA, promises to be an artful pop album.

They’ll soon be releasing a remix of “Oh Sailor” by Australian band Strange Talk and we can expect some live shows in LA this summer.

For a little more about Monica, peruse this bit from her official bio. Intriguing!:

“Monica grew up in the middle of the woods in a seaside town called Grimstad. Her dad built catamarans and her mum was a secretary whose love for music was infectious. They didn’t have much money, but put their daughter through years of piano and voice lessons which she’d attend wearing her mother’s oversized outfits from another era. There were four black cats called Missy, and some neighbors who killed a man, but otherwise it was all Nancy Drew, dancing through the trees, and singing to mum’s records.”

RR