Customer Reviews

Night Falls Over Kortedala

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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 to declare his peak with this album. I think Lekman has a greater masterpiece in him, and I have no doubt we'll hear it soon enough.

Lekman has created a cohesive record that simply sounds great; the songs have excellent flow and smile-inducing production. Vocally, Lekman has never been stronger. But while his previous release, "Oh, You're So Silent Jens" was a bit of a mish-mash, more a casual compilation of songs than a legit album, I enjoyed it more. Stand-out singles worthy of continuous college radio play such as "Maple Leaves" and "I Met Her in an Anti-War Demonstration" and "Black Cab" I found more memorable than any particular track on "Kortedala"--and in that way I find his newest release to be a bit of a letdown, but certainly no disappointment. Just a mixed response. It's a strange reaction, I know, to an artist I truly admire. While I haven't stopped playing the CD, none of the songs have made it to my ipod playlist.

In any case, any one moment on this record is worth six on virtually anything else out there in the indie twee world. Lekman is certainly a singer to watch and savour, and I relish his climb up the Soul Searching Ladder to the Stars.

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.

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.

I was trying to think of a way to describe how I feel about this album in a way that would encapsulate my love of it completely. The first time I went to review it here I stared at the screen for ten minutes and did nothing. I decided I just couldn't do it. Then today it hit me, the best way to describe this is the concept called "flash bulb memories." A Flashbulb memory is that phenomenon people describe when they say they remember where they were when JFK and MLK were assassinated, when John Lennon was killed, when the two towers fell, etc. Some major event in the history of their lives that stopped them in their tracks and made them remember what they were doing. Hearing this album for the first time is the closest thing I have had yet to that experience in my life. I remember a few days before being suggested this and not thinking it sounded that interesting. I saw a pic of Jens and rolled my eyes thinking, "Oh god its some pretentious indie singer/songwriter, that I'm sure has nothing special to offer." I decided to look into it anyway, I was having a dry spell with music and I thought why the hell not. I remember everything about the moment I clicked my mouse button and Heard "Sipping on the sweet Nectar." I probably listened to this album about ten times in that one sitting. More than I ever have before or since upon first listening. This didn't need to age on me at all the appeal was immediate and after almost three and a half years now it still hasn't gotten old.

Vocally Jens is very deep voiced and almost monotone, but he also can have an unexpected softness and range you wouldn't expect to hear from someone as Baritone as him. His voice can be compared to other singers like Jonathan Richmond and Stephen Merritt, but think about the immense disparity between those two, such comparisons might be apt for professional reviews, but they do little justice for just how much Jens Voice can do. His voice seems at home complimenting pretty much any genre or emotion with little effort. English is not his first language, but I wouldn't know that if I hadn't already known he was Swedish before listening to this. Everything just seems effortless to him in regards to vocals.

Lyrically, His strength is in story telling and he has quite a lot of interesting ones to tell you. He seems to really enjoy happier light hearted stories about himself that are self depreciating in a way. In this LP and the album before it, the main message I would take from these as a whole would be to take yourself less seriously. Things don't seem to happen because of Jens on this alb, they happen to him. A postcard To Nina, a song about a friend of his who is a lesbian who wants to take Jens up on his offer to pretend to be her boyfriend to ease up her conservative father suspicions about her sexual orientation is a perfect example of this. Kanske is another one, he seems to be trying really hard to impress a girl, but she just continuously chides him on his efforts. The opposite of Hallelujah, which usually ties with Shirin as my favorite song on the album, also has a similar theme. Jens is trying to sound really deep and contemplative to his sister, but everything keeps going wrong for him in the conversation. Jens just seems to get into awkward and strange situations that kind of pop the balloon of his pride over and over again. Although I would see that as a similar theme among his songs, it is not the only thing he sings about. I'm Leaving you because I don't love you, for instance, has a more serious tone to it, but even that makes him seem unsure and awkward, more than it does definitive and on point. Every song on here at one point in time has been a particular favorite since first listening, both from a lyrical and instrumental standpoint.

Instrumentally this is a lot like other Twee Pop albums, Jens wears his influences on his sleeve and its not hard to see where hes coming from. That being said there are somethings that were unique about this at the time and to some extent today. Jens had a heavy use of sampling on this, that up on tell that point hadn't been done as much in this type of music. I wont say it was never done, but to this extent and with this much skill? I think not. All of the samples are beautifully added in and used. He had some rough spots in this regard on his first LP, but I think on this one he came very close to perfecting the use of samples. All the regular instrumentals are well played, not impressive from a technical standpoint maybe, but in adding to the overall sound, perfect in my opinion. He isn't always the most original artist, but he does the twee thing and the singer/songwriter better than all the others I have heard yet.

I have listened to this all the way through more than a thousand times, maybe more than that. It is an insanely high number is the main point here. In the song Maple Leaves that comes from an earlier album he says:

"Oh please god bring relief, even if it's only brief"

Even though I'm an atheist I have prayed devoutly for a new Jens Album since hearing this one. My hands come together in a futile gesture and chant this lyric in the hopes Jens will make a new album already... Ok so I don't really do that, but I do look up "Jens new album" in Google at least once every week for the past four years. So yes please bring relief even if its only brief already. If I don't get a new album, I might lose my mind completely, madness will finally defeat me...

In all seriousness I'll remember the first time I heard this album like it was the time I heard it yesterday, it always feels new and appealing. I just love it!

for you ladies out there, this album has great songs to swoon over (including but not limited to "into eternity"). when i listen to this album on my way to the train station, i can't help but strut my stuff. it's got great dance beats that are fun and upbeat.

listening to jens lekman in the car or at home is nothing like listening and/or seeing him live. his voice is flawless live. there's also a lot of horns and violins in his music. it's very orchestral yet with witty lyrics that are also silly at the same time. his harmonic arrangements are amazing and grandeur. you really want to listen to the words, all his songs tell a story. most of them ridiculous and funny. hilarious, really. and during many of his songs, like "a postcard to nina" he tells you the background story. more than you get from the song. it reminded me a little bit of sondre lerche when we saw him back in 2004. he gabbed a lot between his songs and you wished he'd just shut up and play. not jens, his stories were so personal and such a treat to hear. it's amazing that he's only 25 too.

Hilarious, touching, multi-instrumental love songs. If I were some sort of racist against the Swedes, I'd make a crack about how they should wire this to play end-to-end in every Ikea on the planet, because it really is that delightful.

Finally saw Jens live and it was a amazing. It just reinforces how good this and all his music really is.

He didn't sound this good live, but it's only because he doesn't have the money. The melodies and lyrics are smart and he inches everything possible from his slight baritone. The melodies and extras are more well constructed than his previous one. Doesn't master the perfect "Black Cab," from his last, but like the Vulgar Boatmen's more straightforward, "Please Panic," almost every song shines here. He takes the quirkiness of Jonathan Richman and adds some pop craft.

I am enjoying this album immensely. As someone who has purchased a few Jens's songs before, along with one album, I knew that I liked his style, but some of the quirkier songs could be just that bit too "kitsch" for me. Still, there were enough standout tunes to make me take notice. And I always found him interesting and worth a listen. This album is catchy and certainly has its kitsch factor, but it's deceptively well-crafted, and there are nuggets of depth in the seemingly mundane lyrics. I think this is a steal at the current price, especially for the MP3 version. If you like the snippets, I think you will definitely like the whole album..

Jens Lekman's "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is absolutely amazing. I have to disagree with the only one star review posted here complaining about Jens' voice. His voice can only be aptly described as delicious. If velvet had a sound, it would be Jens Lekman. The ambience of this record is truly magical. The songs seem to communicate a sort of melancholy mood with an aftertaste of optimism. Songs like "The Opposite of Hallelujah," "Postcard From Nina" and "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You" have a certain nostalgia about them and are dripping with irony. Though the music sounds somewhat corny, it really fits the lyrics perfectly. The music really recalls a previous time just like many of the lyrics do. The instrumentation is so colorful with syrupy strings, angelic ukuleles, sparkly glockenspiels and brilliant samples, especially the one that leads into the chorus on "Postcard From Nina." Lekman has produced an incredible work of art with "Night Falls Over Kortedala." This album is absolutely brilliant.