On First Listen: Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala

Jens Lekman's new album was his attempt at cohesion. His attempt to make what he was quoted as calling a "real album". On first listen it seems the melancholy Swede has arrived at his goal successfuly. Night Falls Over Kortedala is mostly what everyone would have expected from Jens and it is to that end one of the most satisfying albums of the year.

The songs themselves fit into the classic Jens mold of minutia and emotional nuance. Musically the album is mostly a mid-tempo affair with a few more galloping moments and a handful of slow crawl sad songs. String arrangements for this album are impressively dramatic and horns break in a lot of areas that might have otherwise felt too stark. Album opener "And I Remember Every Kiss" is a swelling masterpiece of dramatic pop song craft and would act as a suitable entry point to not only this album but Lekman's music in general. Several tracks take on characteristics of vintage disco with a decidedly organic bent, others wallow in the sort of 60's pop schmaltz that could bring a tear to Glenn Campbell's eye.

The lyrics on Kortedala once again find Jens confused by his lack of human connection and bewildered by the few connections he has. The Album high light in my mind is "A Postcard to Nina". The song chronicles Jens' trip to a friend's parent's home in Germany. Before they enter the home she (a lesbian) tells Jens she has told her parents her boyfriend was along for the trip. Over the next few lines Jens fumbles around conversations with Nina's parents and hopes that he's done a good job of convincing her parents.

There is a striking specificity to all of Jens' songs and on this album that seems to become even more true. As a result you get a strikingly personal statement from an artist who seems to have no boundary of where he ends and his art begins.

A slightly subdued live version of album opener "And I Remember Every Kiss"


Another new song.

Upcoming Albums You Should Like

In the Internet age we're getting a rush of albums way earlier than is to be expected. As such I have pulled the wheat from the chaff and have my recommendations and theories about some albums that will rub lovingly against your ear drums this fall.

Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil No surprise here one of my most anticipated albums of the coming months does not disappoint. Thank god. I'd spent so much time talking these guys up in the past few months that anything less than a one band new garage rock moment was going to leave me looking pretty foolish. One of the top 10 garage rock albums this decade, no question. The high light of the album is track three, "Veni Vidi Vici". Yes a modern garage rock band has used that reference again this decade. (Can these guys seem less self aware?) It's a ballad of sorts and sure to incite slow ass sing-alongs from all corners of the indie community.

M.I.A - Kala I had curbed my expectations for the follow up to an innovative rap classic coming out on a major label. This sort of skepticism has proved ludicrous and is probably bad for my over all disposition. The high light of this album is the penultimate track "Paper Planes" a smooth verse beat leads to a great hum along chorus complete with guns cocking and cash registers erm.. caching-ing.

Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover This comes as a surprise. I found Shut Up I'm Dreaming to be somewhere below the Postal Service and the Raconteurs as a side project worth paying attention to. Sure there was good songs but the middle of the album was mucky and I couldn't groove much passed the killer opener over the long haul. Not so with this one that seems bludgeon you with a boat load of melody and musical fireworks in an incredibly manageable period of time. The high light is once again the killer opener "The Mending of the Gown". It twists you in all the ways you liked about the last album but seems to do it in a punchier less obstructive way. If that makes any sense.

Albums I am currently indifferent to include Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam and The Go! Team's Proof of Youth. The albums I'm still dying for are Jens Lekman's Night Falls Over Kortedala(which has apparently leaked) and Les Savy Fav's Let's Stay Friends. As far as albums I'm excited but skeptical about Kanye West's Graduation should cause no shortage of hair pulling over the next couple of weeks.

Winter 07 Megamixxxxxx!!!!! Volume 1: Still Crazay After All Deez Beers

It's almost the quarter year mark. Which means it's time to make some sort of list. But this time I made a mix. These are the songs of the year as of now. ("Oh but Long Blondes and Crystal Castles came out last year," you say? "Shut up," I respond.)

1)"New York I Love You" LCD Soundsystem
2)"Ocean of Noise" The Arcade Fire
3)"Double Vision" The Ponys
4)"Nag Nag Nag Nag" Art Brut
5)"Run The Numbers" El-P Featuring Aesop Rock
6)"Love & Caring" Crystal Castles
7)"Strange Lights" Deerhunter
8)"Comfy In Nautica" Panda Bear
9)"Then He Kissed Me" Asobi Seksu
10)"Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death" Jens Lekman
11)"Knife (Girl Talk Remix)" Grizzly Bear
12)"Bricks Crumble" Dalek
13)"You Could Have Both" The Long Blondes
14)"Patterns of a Diamond Ceiling" Marnie Stern
15)"All My Friends" LCD Soundsystem
16) An Habitation Of Dragons And A Court For Owls" Wold

Maybe I'll try and put the songs up so you can listen to em. Probably not, but maybe. I took Besnard Lakes off cause I forgot to put Panda Bear on. Got a problem?!