Ev Christensen Lets 'Loose'

The “Loose” video, premiering today, shows Christensen dancing solo in the woods and on rocks, singing longingly against an old wooden carriage. There’s one man, perhaps the one she sings about, fly fishing in the background. Despite her loneliness, though, Christensen still manages to capture her “lively imagination,” she notes. “By the end of the video, I’m in this gorgeous mine dancing and getting mud on my skirt train, but I’m still alone.”

Much like her previous release, “Spectacularity,” Christensen’s new single brings together an eclectic array of sounds. For this, she wanted to make a song using only strings and folk instruments that are synthesized. “Instruments that wouldn’t typically be put together from multiple continents,” she says, adding that the only real instrument featured is a pedal steel guitar played by Lea Jaffe.

Other collaborators on “Loose” include Christensen’s close friends Frankie Lipstick and Graham Tyler, who were both very involved in the project. “It took multiple nights at different diners to get it fully fleshed out,” she says. “I had a rough concept and I knew the locations, but they were so crucial to the final form.” Tyler made the saloon skirt featured in the video, while Lipstick styled her. This look was significant because “it portrayed the song and feelings I was trying to elicit so well,” Christensen says.

Fans of Ethel Cain or Lana Del Rey will comfortably find a home in the artist’s growing world, which often looks to the past and glamorizes a simpler way of living that no longer exists — especially in NYC. But striking the balance between old and new is a nuanced task, as Christensen explains. “I think it’s really important to dissect the eras that you take interest in and think about why it feels relevant to you now.”

Photo courtesy of Ev Christensen