Jens Lekman is a man that wears his influences on his sleeve and its only in his ability to thrust his quirky ‘Scott Walker meets Franky Valli in the back alley’ pop sensibility into each song that his true talent comes through. On the closer “Friday Night at the Drive-in Bingo” he takes on ’50s swing with profound gusto and with the saxophone melody blazing I feel like I am sitting in my favorite booth at Mel’s Diner. There is not a style of music that Jens doesn’t try to conquer, from James Bond theme songs (”And I Remember the First Kiss”) to disco glamour (”Sipping on the Sweet Nectar”). His tunes weave in and out of generations past to create a new future.
The true scope of Jens songwriting comes into focus on the third track, “The Opposite of Hallelujah” where he sings in the upbeat chorus and refrain “You don’t know what I am going through” but, by the end of the record after sifting through his personal and sometimes ‘mundane on purpose’ lyrics, you do. The only qualm I have is that the wild tempo changes and rhythmic tics he throws into some of the songs tend to become a little too jarring against the delicate sampling and orchestration.
“Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo” MP3
