Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman exhibited a stunning ability to craft
intellectual pop confections on the singles and EPs
that were later compiled on the anthology
Oh You're So Silent Jens (Secretly Canadian, 2005).
The EP Maple Leaves (2003) contained the catchy folk-rock singalong
Black Cab (with hippy trademarks such as harpsichord and jangling
guitar,
worthy of a Magnetic Fields compilation) and Maple Leaves (a chaotic pot of string samples, intricate drumming and xylophone).
The EP Rocky Dennis (2004) had
the lush Smiths-ian serenade
Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song (with xylophone, flute, harp)
and the
modernist bossanova
Jens Lekman's Farewell Song to Rocky Dennis.
The EP Julie (2004), possibly his best, boasted
the lullaby
Julie (halfway Donovan's Catch The Wind and Simon & Garfunkel's Cecilia),
the upbeat ditty I Saw Her In The Anti-War Demonstration (which bridges
crooning of the doo-wop era and jangling guitar of the bubblegum-pop era plus neoclassical strings),
A Man Walks Into a Bar, which evokes an
a-cappella Jonathan Richman,
Another Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill,
which evokes an a-cappella Stephen Merritt,
and A Sweet Summers Night on Hammer Hill, which sounds like a tribute to
Tamla soul of the 1960s.
His austere arrangements hid an uncanny sense of humor, like when
the bluesy chant
Pocketful of Money for vocals, piano and finger snapping
suddenly changes into the same song but for a bass voice, polka-like percussion
and jazzy horns, or like when Wrong Hands croons a sunny aria over
jovial tex-mex
maracas crossed with a neoclassical string section.
Lekman impersonated many different singer-songwriters,
arranging each song in a different style.
The first album, When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog (2004), was less
exhilarating and seemed to excel in traditional, obsolete formats.
Several songs are a little too subdued, but sometimes that's precisely the point:
The Cold Swedish Winter strikes precisely of its angelic simplicity.
And the quietly celestial elegy If You Ever Need A Stranger (To Sing At Your Wedding) is no less touching.
At times he sounds like a
melancholy Jonathan Richman or a more melodic Bob Dylan, like in Tran #7 to Heaven and Psychogirl.
On the upbeat side of things, there's the
Tamla soul with
jovial horns of
You Are The Light (By Which I Travel Into This And That)
and the
trumpet fanfare with steel drums Happy Birthday Dear Friend Lisa.
He still finds room for a couple of experiments: the
a-cappella Do You Remember The Riots?, inspired by doo-wop,
and the orchestral A Higher Power, inspired by minimalist repetition.
The album also includes new versions of his classics Maple Leaves and Julie.
Lekman's skills as an arranger truly took off with
Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian, 2007), a collection of
ballads overflowing with strings, horns and all manners of orchestral
effects. Lekman tried to remedy the limitation of the previous album (that all
songs were, fundamentally, imitations) with much more sophisticated instrumental
and vocal counterpoints.
For example,
And I Remember Every Kiss is detonated by a torrential horn section and timpani.
Lekman tries his hand at just about everything:
Caribbean rhythms (Into Eternity),
Broadway choirs and crescendos (If I Could Cry),
doo-wop harmonizing and funky guitars (Kanska Ar Jag Kar I Dig),
etc.
The method turns Lekman's tender confessions into overblown
easy-listening ballads such as A Postcard for Nina, with mixed results.
I Am Leaving You Because I Don't Love You even couples sorrowful
lyrics with electronic dance beats and female backup vocals (in what is
probably the most daring idea of the album).
It may not be a coincidence that the winners are the simplest songs.
The carillon-like piano propels The Opposite of Hallelujah, the catchiest refrain.
The glorious Friday Night At The Drive-in Bingo mocks the Fifties with a rockabilly gallop and a "yakety" saxophone.
The country lament Shirin towers over everything else with a classic
melody, romantic strings and staccato keyboards.
The fundamental limitation of pop music (the mother of all limitations) is
still there, and will always be there: predictable structures, dejavu melodies,
a portfolio of abused rhythms.
For the older generations these songs are mostly trivia ("what does it sound like?").
For the younger generations they are muzak, no matter how intelligent.
Only a few will outlast their gimmickry.
The EP An Argument with Myself (2011) contains disposable lightweight
tunes like Waiting for Kirsten and
An Argument with Myself that are simply more baroque in their
arrangements (with a preference for unusual instruments).
I Know What Love Isn't (2012) is much humbler and downbeat "breakup" concept.
Lekman turned to dance beats for Life Will See You Now (2017).
Correspondence (2019) is a split album with Annika Norlin.
He re-imagined the entire Oh You're So Silent Jens on
The Cherry Trees Are Still In Blossom (2022).
The Linden Trees Are Still In Blossom (2022) instead took on
Night Falls Over Kortedala.
