Norway-via-LA is Scandopop in spirit…

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[6.90]
Katherine St Asaph: Mr Little Jeans is another vaguely-indie vaguely-Scando brightly-pop artist who’s gotten songs on blogs for approximately infinity years; as it often turns out, they’ve all been pretty good! And writing a Heartthrob track down a Kate Boy grotto is another way to be pretty good. Next step: for the love of FKA Twigs, change the stage name.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Tegan & Sara are great, why not multiples, right? “Good Mistake” is concerned with horizontal progress, but the banjo garble implies pop smarts, or at least smartassness. (There’s also a chance she sampled “I Love It” at half-speed.) Major credits for finding the longest rhymes possible.
[7]
Anthony Easton: I like how scuffed-up and worn-out the sound at 2:39 is — almost literally, like rough heels on rougher concrete. Everything sounds so deliberate, so the scuffing is like the rips and spills on a Comme jacket: it makes the cheap seem that much more expensive.
[9]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: “Good Mistake” appears to shunt off strong songwriting in favour of intriguing textures, what with the rumbling baselines and hazy backing lyrics. And yet, the track sticks in the mind, offering glimmers of an unsteady heart with repeated plays. The lyric that most audibly stands out is “your secret’s safe with me”, and the song feels like a secret pledge, with phrases popping up to suggest an underplayed bloodthirst: “your secret’s safe with the garden gnome”, “a pocket knife”, “you can“. You’re left unsure as to what any of that means, but it’s worth another listen to try and solve.
[8]
Alfred Soto: Ace (of base) bass, enough to sustain the vocal underplaying.
[5]
Megan Harrington: It’s a serious challenge for me to find a reason to dislike a song with a heavy synth bassline, but Mr Little Jeans also end “Good Mistake” with vocal rounds and use it to choreograph an expertly Lynchian music video. This might be keyboards and drum machines signifying nothing, but with all the trappings of a spooky night on the town it’s a short hop from shallow to resonant.
[7]
Juana Giaimo: While I find her dark hushed vocals and the twisted pop essence fascinating, in the chorus she suddenly turns into a new Lorde, but with a less interesting voice.
[7]
Mallory O’Donnell: I wish more were happening here. There’s a nice atmosphere, some good buildup, but nothing really gets off the ground. Was it meant to get off the ground? I don’t know. Shouldn’t the people who made this have cared more? I feel like I care more, listening to it, then they did, making it. So… [6]? It is actually good… aw hell, now I’m all confused.
[6]
John Seroff: There’s so little pop it-factor here; the edifice is so sheer that even after a dozen listenings I can’t get enough purchase to recommend this for much more than able mixtape filler for your favorite coffee shop’s brunch rush. Maybe it sounds better in the club, but otherwise what’s the opposite of “epic”? Pastoral?
[5]
David Lee: Like wandering through a haunted house: a floorboard creaks here, a kickdrum heartbeat pounds from behind the wall, and somewhere upstairs (or is it the hall closet?) a wispy voice carries through the dusty, dim light. And then suddenly a trapdoor springs open, illuminating the room with the promise of a cavern filled with sparkling, synth treasure. When you finally peer down, the voice abruptly grows loud and, startled, you lose your footing. “Your secret’s safe with me!” The trapdoor slams shut.
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