Review: "Night Falls Over Kortedala"

I many ways this album, Jens Lekman's first in over three years, is beautifully done. Even with it's largely melancholic subject matter, "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is a surprisingly cheerful experience. The bright instrumentals and catchy refrain of "The Opposite of Hallelujah" actually made me smile through the entire song while sitting alone in my living room. Campy horns, lavish strings and the invocation of styles ranging from 50's pop to jazz to lounge music on the widely varied tracks make the album both stylistically and technically excellent.

In spite of the joy, intelligence and humor employed in this album, something is missing; there is some small failure here. Jens tries to address this lack himself in his blog. He writes:

"For the songs on this record I wanted my music to meet the world, meet other people and see other places. I wanted to take it out like an old dog and let it sniff around. But I failed. Instead the whole record stays within the 30 square meters of my apartment all the way to the last song when I take a short bus ride to the country, which is just two hours from here."

I disagree. I don't see Lekman as failing to bring his music out, but instead as failing to bring his listeners into his world. Lekman's prior work, the work that I have fallen in love with, is far more honest. Songs like "Sky Phenomenon" and "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song" offer a sense of intimacy and insight to the listener that is largely lacking on "Kortedala". This amazing candidness does peek it's head out in certain moments, in Jens' discussion of his shy childhood on "It Was a Strange Time In My Life" or in the image of two lovers holding each other on the couch of an ER waiting room in "Your Arms Around Me". However, these moments tend to be lost among the backup vocals and stylized instrumentals that make up the album. "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is enjoyable and fun but I would much prefer a return to simple songs of piano and strings supporting Jens Lekman's rich voice and quirky sadness.