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Rating: Jens Lekman, finally arriving at his third studio album, seems to want to reaffirm his stylistic coordinates. Our artist loves pop (and therefore around here, we love him) in all its variations, from orchestral-Bacharachian setups and golden age Hollywood soundtracks to vague '70s disco atmospheres (see the almost initial "Sipping On The Sweet Nectar") from languid soulful ballads (imagine "A Postcard To Nina" sung by Barry White..) to some Latin influences (!).
What ultimately makes us prefer this artist over many other singer-songwriters is precisely his open-mindedness and the skillful (non) freshness of his orchestrations... a sort of acoustic Beck (but here and there there's indeed electronics) there you go! "Your Arms Around Me" reaches unexpected heights of sweetness without giving you a toothache, thanks to spot-on arrangements and our inseparable ukulele that feels so Fantasy Island. Therefore, an excellent album to accompany a picnic with friends, this "Night Falls Over Kortedala," with plenty of handclappings and choirs instrumentally, but it's from a textual standpoint that he continues to give his best. Ended loves, impossible and misunderstood ones take center stage, including a particularly poignant one like "Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo"... the Swede is indeed a master in willingly mawkish provincial paintings (see also Shirin), based on love stories that become pretexts to talk (also) about something else. With lots and lots of irony, that never hurts.
An album that you come to appreciate with repeated listens... a good thing for pop. P.S.: This album reached a 9.0 on pitchforkmedia, perhaps it deserves it, I don't know. To your auditory apparatuses the tough verdict.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Sipping on the Sweet Nectar (04:11)
You remember your first kiss?
Well how can I forget?
My hand still shivers
from the very thought of it
Well sometimes I almost regret it
like I regret my regrets
I see myself on my deathbed saying
"I wish I would have loved less"
But that's when the feeling hits
so just lick your lips
these are the good times that you'll miss
when you are sipping on the sweet nectars
of your memories
Just take a sip
and let it wet your lips
you won't understand all this until you're
sipping on the sweet nectar of your memories
Last night I ran into my old life
still waiting for someone at the station
someone who never made it into my new life
so I called up Lisa
'cause she's my only friend
"Lisa I don't know anymore,
every heartbeat needs a reason"
She said
"That's when the feeling hits
so just lick your lips
can you smell the spring time in the breeze
you gotta start sipping on the sweet nectars
of your memories"
I take a sip
I let it wet my lips
I think back on that kiss
I gotta start sipping on the sweet nectar
That's when the feeling hits
03 The Opposite of Hallelujah (04:21)
I took my sister down to the ocean
But the ocean made me feel stupid
Those words of wisdom I had prepared
All seemed to vanish into thin air
Into the waves I stared
I picked up a seashell
To illustrate my homelessness
But a crab crawled out of it
Making it useless
And all my metaphors fell flat
Down on the rocks where we sat
She asked where are you at?
But sister, it's the opposite of hallelujah
It's the opposite of being you
You don't know 'cause it just passes right through you
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
We made our way home on the bikes we had borrowed
I still never told you about unstoppable sorrow
You still think I'm someone to look up to
I still don't know anything about you
Is it in you too?
You've got so much to live for, little sister
You've got so much to live for
But sister, it's the opposite of hallelujah
It's the opposite of being you
You don't know cause it just passes right through you
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
You don't know what I'm going through
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By nino
Jens Lekman is currently the most updated compendium on the movement of popular music.
Jens Lekman: poet, Franciscan, sound sculptor: I love you.
By Socrates
"With the same 'materials'... he is capable of composing innovative songs, 'original', that evoke surprise and... unconditional admiration."
"This ability brings him quite close to another inimitable modern alchemist: Beck."
