There’s a particular kind of infatuation that doesn’t quite have a name — the one where admiration tips into something closer to reverence, where the person you’re drawn to starts to feel mythological even as they remain entirely human. That’s the territory Greta van den Brink is working in on Levi Jeans, and she maps it with a precision that makes the song feel both intimate and cinematic at once.
The Auckland indie-pop artist’s sixth single ahead of her debut album This Wasn’t Planned is built on hazy textures and close, direct vocals — smoky and grounded, dreamlike and sharp at the same time. Lines like “Didn’t know that God wore Levi Jeans” and “the only language that he speaks is when he sings on rusted strings” trace a figure who feels larger than life but remains rough and human underneath. Desire, faith, and doubt folding into each other — it’s a complicated emotional space, and Levi Jeans inhabits it with confidence.
“The night before I wrote the song there was a powercut and my house was filled with candles,” Greta says. “I wanted to bring the glowing or flickering light in the darkness to the studio. This song is about desire, being completely in awe of someone in a very raw and sensual way. Being enamoured by the salt of the earth, the rough and rugged. That’s how Levi Jeans feels.”
Her path to music is as unconventional as the music itself. Greta first gained attention through film and stunt work — training at Sam Neill’s The Actor’s Program and performing stunts on major productions including The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Apple TV’s Time Bandits. Her shift into music carried the same instinct for storytelling, with debut single Road to Hell unexpectedly landing on a Netflix soundtrack and setting the tone for everything that followed. From the dreamy lo-fi of Chill Cool Girl to the darker pull of Bodies, she has built a steady and distinctive presence in Aotearoa’s indie-pop scene, and Levi Jeans feels like her most focused release yet.
This Wasn’t Planned arrives late May. On the strength of what she’s shared so far, it’s shaping up to be one of the more interesting debut albums the local scene has produced in a while.
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