On The Platter: Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Man, I am so stoked!
I just recently discovered the music of Jens Lekman and I am mightily impressed. I got hold of a copy of his forthcoming second album Night Falls Over Kortedala and I have been playing it non-stop the whole day. You rarely hear an artist that is so confident, so self assured in his music. This is music that is made as much for his listeners as for himself. It’s personal without being morose or too obscure. A crowd pleaser without being too formulaic.
Lekman’s music sounds like a blenderized version of chamber pop, sixties music, electronic folk, with a hint of 70’s balladry. It may sound like a weird combination but Lekman manages to assimilate all the best qualities of those genres to produce a sound that is familiar enough to make you feel at home when you hear it and yet still wonderfully unique that it’ll pique your interest once you’re engulfed in Lekman’s inventive arrangement and tongue-in-cheek use of diverse instruments and found sounds. Lekman flits from song to song with an almost childlike enthusiasm, one moment he sings a song that is just carried by the strong melody because of the sparse arrangement, but then the next song is filled to brimming with sonic layers that you feel that you’re twirling in an aural kaleidoscope. All through this though you hear Lekman’s tender voice (which sounds like a weird cross between Stephin Merritt and Terry Callier), which serves as the focal point and the thread that connects all of these songs together.
Night Falls Over Kortedala is that rare work that sounds less like an album but a wonderful sonic journey that uplifts you and leaves you wanting more.
Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala
August 30th, 2007 at 12:04 am
[...] Lekman - A Man Walks Into a Bar by Mel Panabi Here’s a great performance of Jens Lekman as he sings A Man Walks Into a Bar. How can one man write such wonderful [...]