Jens Lekman

And yeah, Sweden being a goldmine seconded - Labrador has being releasing some of their best stuff recently...

His show here earlier in the year was a highlight.

the david berman poem that the title and verse come from is good

"yoo-eh, ah go-ut boo-ested" is what makes "you are the light" awful, otherwise it's just a bit boring

finland and iceland and stuff are nordic but not scandinavian, maybe

finnish people may disagree, if they like

http://www.headphones-on.com/2007/04/sample_pirate_or_musical_named_1.html

I tried to like Oh You're So Silent Jens a few times over the past year and just couldn't get into it, but then for some reason it came up randomly on my ipod a few weeks ago and I thought it was very nice! in an older magnetic fields kind of way

oh you're so silent jens is still my fave, but i like the latest record a lot more than i expected to. postcard to nina may get old but that hasn't happened yet

'a postcard to nina' is fantastic songwriting, something that sets this kid apart from joe average. it does stand out quite prominently as the best track on the record, but there are other shining moments as well.

RJG, on scandinavia

Saw him last week -- I liked this much more than I expected, not being that familiar with the records. But this sounds not at _all_ like Magnetic Fields (any era) to me. It's much more like post-Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman. Lekman is whimsical and sweet and Magnetic Fields are really not.

Gabb, I'm pretty sure someone out there is keeping a full list of Lekman samples. It's funny -- I think a lot of the style of his first records actually has to do with his need to grab parts from 60s productions with heavy stereo separation! The sample of his I notice most (apart from Calvin Johnson) is pretty much down to him noticing that the string part on a Mamas & Papas song was all alone in one channel.

There's this song I've heard on the radio twice now (in two different stores) that sounds identical to one of his, but I don't know the identity of the song on the radio or the one it sounds like.

He uses some of the exact same samples The Avalanches use and they are mutual fans. He's also recorded a track with New Buffalo.

My name is Jens and i´m 20 yrs and living in Sweden. I´m currently study at a university, Gender issues.

current favourite songs: billie ray martin - "your loving arms", the gerbils - "crayon box", throw that beat in the garbagecan! - "a kiss from you", the go-betweens - "people say", lil kim - "suck my dick", television personalities - "favourite films", kicking giant - "fuck the rules" bratmobile - "cool schmool" ´lew kirton - "heaven in the afternoon" sea & cake - "afternoon speaker"

favourite bands: erics trip, jonathan richman/modern lovers, daniel johnston, b&s, tindersticks, skinned teen, field mice & other sarah stuff, lou barlow stuff, noise addict, helen love, teen anthems.

i don´t like: most jazz stuff (that i´ve heard), metal, too cheesy new romantic...well i like most stuff. oasis, stones (except one or two songs) the who, phillysoul, westcoast hiphop, FUNK....

-- Jens, Monday, 5 February 2001 01:00 (7 years ago) Link

WHOA

lol isn't being named jens in sweeden like being named mike in america?

also i don't think jens lekman dislikes things that are "too cheesy new romantic"

right age though.

This dude has the swine flu and now my friends are scared to go see him when he comes to Oporto :(

Haha, that phrasing makes it seem like he shows up here on a regular basis. Concert's on the 18th; dude is currently in home isolation and should be 100% ok by then.

postcard to nina may get old but that hasn't happened yet

it happened

current favourite songs: billie ray martin - "your loving arms", the gerbils - "crayon box", throw that beat in the garbagecan! - "a kiss from you", the go-betweens - "people say", lil kim - "suck my dick", television personalities - "favourite films", kicking giant - "fuck the rules" bratmobile - "cool schmool" ´lew kirton - "heaven in the afternoon" sea & cake - "afternoon speaker"

I don't know any of these songs. Anything worth checking out?

Regarding Jens Lekman, I love 'Black Cab' 'Rocky Dennis Farewellsong to the Blind Girl' and 'I saw her at the anti-war demonstration'. He was pretty loved at Stylus iirc, it's odd to read he's not that well appreciated over here.

people say is a great song. cool schmool is great lo-fi fun

the sipping on the sweet nectar remixes are ok

"People Say" is great. The Television Personalities are an acquired taste. Sea and Cake can be great at times IIRC

The Kicking Giant song's pretty good but People Say is one of my favourite songs ever.

I don't know that TVP song off the top of my head tbh

I love some of Jens' songs but his preciousness is too much at times. I use to lump him together with Sufjan Stevens, but while I think Lekman is the talent they share similar aesthetic faults (schoolboy bashfulness, solipsism, too fey, perhaps too literary and introspective as well).

But the songs are so pretty...

the TVP is the one that name drops Tom Courtney's "King and Country" and other kitchen sink drama.

he's a whiny little girl, but i like his music.

Anyone going to the Union Chapel show in August? Gotta say that I've never been so pumped for a gig before, he's been my favourite artist since I was 15.

It's been awhile since the last record, right? Was in 2005?

last album was 2007. he can be too precious for me, but i'm interested to hear his next project.

New song up on Pitchfork. OOOOH it's good!

Anyone seeing him live next week?

so, new album soon?

i have mixed feelings about jens lekman, but i'm interested in hearing a new disc.

I'm seeing him next week. For the first time. Looking forward to it, especially because it's at Union Chapel which is one of the best venues in London.

All the songs he's been playing over the last year or so (this one, New Directions, A Handful of Feathers, Golden Key) have sounded great. Does anyone know anything about when the album's supposed to come out?

Oh, and I've seen him twice, the first show (Portland right after Night Falls Over Kortedala came out, eight-piece band) was one of the best things I have ever seen and the second (last summer, much smaller band, one string player and no horns, would've probably preferred just seeing him solo) was decent given that he was pretty sick. Would totally see him again, I guess this next tour will be his first full-band one in a while.

I'm pleased that he still sounds like Barry Manilow.

was going to go see him in dublin last night but had a family dinner which ran later than expected. keen to hear a new album though.

never been so excited for a gig before as I am for tonight's show.

another new song included as part of the newest episode of Tig Notaro's podcast (I guess their tour together a few years ago culminated in his getting her signed to Secretly Canadian): http://www.earwolf.com/episode/sweet-dreams/

his website says he's "sitting with his mixes" and that he has about 30 songs done, pretty sure it's going to qualify for his description of being all "heartbreak and post-heartbreak songs" if this and every other new song he's played so far is any indicator.

Man, I love "Waiting for Kirsten."

ive been listening 2 a ton of jens this summer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2cGQyk0KEM

lol @ "ill come running w a heart on fire" in ^this^ sounds like its will forte

to me, it sounds like calvin johnson, but only because it is calvin johnson. do like jens, but i haven't heard anything by him in a couple few years.

has a new record out in sept

The last EP was mostly brilliant and I adored "The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love" so I'm pretty excited for this.

The new album is marvelous, tinkling piano aside.

yeah, this is very nice. no "black cab" so far...

Trying to wait for the physical release to hear this (I like to still do this now and again with some new albums, but I always end up giving in) Have been listening to his older albums to get myself excited. Psychogirl, Your Arms Around Me and Rocky Dennis' Farewell really are just perfect songs.

Streaming on Pitchfork in full!
http://pitchfork.com/news/47663-stream-jens-lekmans-i-know-what-love-isnt-in-full/

Enjoying it so far. God I used to be obsessed with Jens, like there was a two year spell when ALL I'd listen to was him (plus Michael Mayer's Immer).

hell, have a top 10 JL list I wrote as well: http://www.mintmagazine.co.uk/music/all-hail-west-texas-004-jens-jens-jens/

feelin weird about jens these days, half the time i love his songs, half the time his lyrics just make me cringe - i think i prefer it when he's vague and metaphorical, like the cowboy boots song, to when he's telling some long rambling specific story, like the world moves on. the kirsten dunst song on the EP was particularly awful.

I thought all the last EP except the main track were pretty dull. Will check the album mainly because I want to want to see him live (he plays my town in about 3 weeks) as I never have. Still love most of his back cat..

yeah the EP did nothing for me

i like a few on the new one but am having trouble getting excited about it

hm. I liked "Waiting For Kristen" (esp when his voice goes up for the "VIP lines" part).

after a few listens...I don't mind it. It's all pretty low-key really. Nice enough, but there's nothing as disc-friendly as 'Sipping on the Sweet Nectar', or as outright BRILLIANT/10/10/ALL TIME CLASSIC as 'A Postcard to Nina' or whatever. Hmm.

*disco-friendly, even

god, 'sweet nectar' has been my absolute ANTHEM this summer

i like the title track on the new 1 a lot, havent listened to the rest enough

New album is really understated but so beautiful. I'm hearing some Prefab Sprout influences in a few songs which is no bad thing.

Just saw him live for the first time (a fan since 'Maple Leaves' came out. GREAT show, he covered Ten City's 'That's The Way Love Is' rather splendidly. Such a natural performer.

*out)

He's pretty cool. Did he have other people on stage? I'm seeing him in Glasgow next month.

Julia out of The Ladybug Transistor was on bass, I didn't recognise the others but there was also a drummer, keyboardist, violinist on stage. A fine band, they sounded properly great.

I'm not usually this soppy, but he turned up at a fan's wedding and provided the music during the ceremony. I love the way that he still performs shows requested by fans (I saw him live for the first time a couple of years ago because he came all the way to the UK for a charity show after one such email).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB7LE2hJSBk

so rad

aw.

That was so moving. Perfect song choices too. What a guy!

that's awesome. jens seems like a good guy.

That is lovely.

heat http://pitchfork.com/news/56528-jens-lekman-shares-wwjd-mixtape-featuring-unreleased-songs-wwjd-i-remember-and-whats-that-perfume-that-you-wear/

this guy is good

i like the one about thwarted artistic impulses. "i picked up a seashell to illustrate my homelessness / but a crab crawled out making it useless."

That's probably my favourite Jens lyric. Love this guy.

https://www.sounds.nl/detail/3607858/cd/jens_lekman/life_will_see_you_now
http://ew.com/music/2016/12/22/most-anticipated-albums-2017/

news of a new album Life Will See You Now out 17/2 has leaked out it seems

That's great news. He's touring in March too.

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/jens-lekmans-new-lp-life-will-see-you-now-out-in-february-listen-to-whats-that-perfume-that-you-wear/

http://www.jenslekman.com/records/smalltalk.htm

'Hotwire The Ferriswheel' is a duet with Tracy Thorn, and 'How We Met, the Long Version' is Postcard #29

it's nice to see him working with samples again

the new album is pretty disappointing overall, it's more energetic than I Know What Love Isn't, but the music & lyrics are both quite meandering. the songs on I Know What Love Isn't were generally stronger despite the very bland arrangements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSC6Kh0N5s

the first three tracks are the best but probably could have been Kortedala b-sides

I love this album.

Now the sun is out this album makes more sense than in cold, dank February.

One of my favorites of the year.

Yeah, this is a wonderful album. I do prefer his previous two, but there's so much to love here. Looking forward to playing it more now the sun is out as Dan says.

how can i tell him is so devastatingly pretty

i found this album a bit disappointing but i am really looking forward to seeing him in march, the venue has a capacity of 50 so it should be very intimate

I loved it enough for it to place

the first three tracks are great but then the rest was just ok, which is only disappointing by his very high standards

“Evening Prayer” is a beautiful song, conceptually and musically.

Best album of 2017.

My list of a dozen good 'uns..

Good #1 pick, that's an all time great song for me.

great strings

Great choices. Your Arms Around Me is the only real omission. Easily my favourite Jens moment.

Great list. The only ones that I would rate higher than most of these are Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill, which nicks the Martha Reeves Heatwave progression to great effect, and the recent How Can I Tell Him, a gorgeous ballad I listed at #5 in my 2017 singles list

Anyone been keeping up with the CORRESPONDENCE tracks he's been quietly releasing? Forever Young, Forever Beautiful is really nice.

Also, I saw him earlier in the year and he covered Do You Believe In Magic? to open his set, and it was wonderful.

I’d missed the Correspondence tracks so will go and seek them out, thanks!

Really loving "Revenge of the Nerds" from CORRESPONDENCE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSC6Kh0N5s

this song is so touching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxJb9qeAmL4

a new version of julie