LA-based post-punk band Agender share grungy, playful track and video “Jeans,” out everywhere now. On “Jeans,” the band beg for the tortuous details of their new lover’s romantic history, with white-and-denim-filled video to match that pays homage to 90s-era jeans advertisements and friendly sleepovers.
Out today, “Jeans” sees Agender trade in the all black outfits for denim and white as they embrace a new, lighthearted side. Lead singer Romy Hoffman calls the track a “desperate but endearing love song for modern times.” Signature pounding drums and distorted guitars open the track with lyrics that cut to the chase, “I wanna know where your jeans have been / Oh baby, please tell me everything / I wanna know what your lips have done / give me the names of everyone.” Essentially, the song asks, “what’s your body count?” a rather crass question more common in recent years, but Hoffman isn’t a fan of this term. In Hoffman’s ideal world, the word “jeans” would signify the juicy–”how many places have your ‘lucky’ jeans been?”
Sung from the artist’s internal monologue, Hoffman wrote the song in the early stages of a new relationship, naturally a time when one might want to learn of their past, though it may hurt to hear. Hoffman adds, “I’m over-thinking out loud, and I want to torture myself. It’s not fun being an anxiously attached individual but it is a fun song!” Describing its sound, Hoffman says it features, “Fast downstrokes a la the Ramones and nice harmonies mask a messed up love song, akin to that of 60s girl groups.” The track’s credits include production by Hoffman and David Scott Stone (LCD Soundsystem), as well as mixing by Phillip Broussard (The Replacements, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of A Down), and mastering by Bob Weston (Shellac).
The video, directed by Hoffman, is a departure from the group’s usual format of abstract visuals of the past. Hoffman says, “We’ve made a lot of music videos but none feature us, solely, playing as a band, in a studio. We thought it was about time we let the band shine and allow the song to pop.” While the band performs the song, a pillow fight of sorts breaks out, but using jeans instead of pillows, putting the band’s whimsical side on display.
