Jens Lekman When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog (Green)

Call it a curse. Jens Lekman’s is a world populated by an endless stream of women. But not just any sort of women. No, these are the sort of women that inspire the most joyous of heartbreak in your mild-mannered crooner. There he is: hair mussed & glasses off-kilter, sitting in the corner of the cafe with his journal bookmarked once again; like Truffaut’s The Man Who Loved Women, Jens Lekman is a man forever at a crossroads between competing inspirations. Some of the women have names (Silvia, Lisa, Julie, Maria); some don’t (the chili cook in The Cold Swedish Winter, the bread baker in the title track, the make out artist in A Higher Power, for example). It’s all part of Lekman’s story. He loves to fixate on inspiration and has a special gift for not only finding it, but spreading it. His songs are each so different stylistically, each a classic in its own way. He employs each of the following as central features in his songs: horn sections, string sections, a capella singing, steel drums, piano balladry, and mandolin. Lekman is a young pop crooner from Göteborg, Sweden. Eyes bright, heart wide open, he’s become an overnight sensation with his home recorded magic and fantastic lyrics. It’s hard to believe that he is only 23. He could as well be playing Las Vegas. His timeless elegance makes the big, beautiful suburban pop songs sound like they’re already classics. Which they are. He recently hit #2 on the Swedish national pop charts for the title track to this EP. Most everyone who’s heard him believes him to be the next great pop star emerging from the streets of the DIY underground. With an angelic voice and golden ears he seems to be drinking from the same hard waters as the Carpenters, Harry Nilsson, the Magnetic Fields, Smog, the Modern Lovers and Belle & Sebastian.

1. Tram#7 to Heaven
2. Do You Remember the Riots?
3. You Are the Light
4. If You Even Need a Stranger
5. Maple Leaves
6. Silvia
7. The Cold Swedish Winter
8. Julie
9. Happy Birthday Dear Friend Lisa
10. Psychogirl
11. When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
12. A Higher Power