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Album Description
Jens Lekman opens Night Falls Over Kortedala with the sure step of an artist in complete command of his creative self. Imbued with epic grandeur, 'And I Remember Every Kiss' fades in with a melancholy timpani roll, a stirring string section and Jens crooning with every wistful bone in his body. After the first verse, the strings passionately swell into a wall of sound and with one gravity-defying pass-through Jens delivers his death blow to cynicism, illustrating just why many consider him one of the most important of the hopeful broken hearts coming of age in contemporary music. Like a modern day Chet Baker, Jens absolutely loves to sing about heartache. On 'Sipping On the Sweet Nectar', Jens introduces a dance beat to his string, horn and croon combo. And it only gets bigger from there with the tableside backbeat of 'The Opposite of Hallelujah' to the live favorite 'A Postcard to Nina', and the slender hooks of 'I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You' to the Frankie Valli purity of 'Shirin' an epic ode to Jens' barber which is reminiscent of a Mexican Folk ballad.
Amazon.com
Halfway through the first track of Jens Lekman's finest offering yet, "And I Remember Every Kiss," a Lekman neophyte might be sure they've got him pegged. Here's another Scott-Walker-worshipping yungin; a precocious string-section crooner. To be sure, there's plenty of string-soaked melodrama here, and Lekman puts that modest Morrissey-esque croon to work throughout the album. But after the high camp Copa-Cabana disco of "Sipping on the Sweet Nectar," the breezy latin-flavored "Into Eternity," the acoustic lullaby of "Shirin" or the, uh, drive-in vibe of "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo," it's clear Lekman's ambition and sense of humor can't be confined to one small corner of imitation or appropriation. Appropriation--in the literal sense, for that matter--is one of Lekman's great strengths, as evidenced by the new context he gives his many perfect samples, be it a drum loop from the Residents and Renaldo & The Loaf record Title in Limbo, or any number of lifted orchestral bits. Lekman weaves many of his samples so seamlessly into his presentation, one is often at a loss to distinguish samples from live instruments. The end result is something like a new millennium Brill Building, with songcraft at the helm, but awash in modern production technique. Lekman's world masterfully pairs the electronic with the human. Lekman's also a pro at the sort of wry lyrical melancholia one associates with the aforementioned Morrissey, or other contemporaries like Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. He's a lot less caustic, but still plays the biographical narrator stewing in life's near misses. He's got a real silly streak, however, just as quick to pen couplets like "my heart is beating, beating like Ringo/as I pull into the drive-in bingo," or "I took my sister down to the ocean/but the ocean made me feel stupid." These lyrical gems illustrate one certainty. Night Falls Over Kortedala is unabashedly precious. Lekman's meticulously crafted, symphonic indie-pop is all saccharine indulgence, but hey, he owns it, and that makes the payoff all the more sweet. --Jason Pace
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NIGHT FALLS OVER KORTEDALA [Vinyl] Reviews
NIGHT FALLS OVER KORTEDALA [Vinyl] Reviews
| 17 of 18 people found the following review helpful  Jens, My Little Swedish Meatball, By This review is from: Night Falls Over Kortedala (Audio CD) Jens Lekman has certainly created a unique persona in the indie world. Shy but smooth: a sensitive Swedish crooner awash in heavy, retro orchestral sampling that has made his newest record, "Night Falls Over Kortedala", a canny Lite FM-ish twinkie that manages to be both ironic and heartfelt. Yea, it's a sugary album. Although the songs occaisonally border on high camp, they never quite cross that uncomfortable line, proving Lekman to be a smart and qwerky maestro, capable of veering easily from tunefully expressing the lustful pangs of true love, debonair as he is, to the darker shadows of introspective longing. Lekman is a successor to Morrissey, in his witty and wounded lyrics, and his wavering falsetto voice. He is also perhaps THE quintessential opening act for a Belle and Sebastian show, but Lekman's fearless studio experiments and definite capabilities as a songwriter hint at something much more interesting and nouveau; his following will surely grow, but I'm hesitant just yet... Read more 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful  so sad, so much in love, By This review is from: Night Falls Over Kortedala (Audio CD) Jens Leckman is so in love, with all kinds of people including the girl who cuts his hair, with a first kiss and with idyllic places in the country. He sings beautiful, soft, lush, sometimes funny songs about living and falling in and out of love. The funny thing is that his introspective self-analysis, couched in his deep calming voice, never seems self-indulgent. It's just life. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful Jens at His Best, By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Night Falls Over Kortedala (Audio CD) Melancholy sweetness. This cd is true bliss; if you like his other albums you'll love this. A must have for fans of The Smiths, Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird. |
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