Rave: Jens Lekman

Double thumbs up for Jens Lekman. Night Falls Over Kortedala is unabashedly bringing disco back hard. In a way that makes me want to dance, not shoot myself. Man, those Swedes!

But seriously, if you've been dawdling, off put by the sweater-and-glasses set's adoration for Jens, or concerned by the awkward and overly emotional girl loudly sighing "Jens, I Love You" from the back of Webster Hall, well, just walk on past it. Once in a while, a songwriter emerges from the melancholy washes who has a deep and archival command of pop, who writes with such a perfectly arch voice, and whose wit, romantic sensibilities, and sense of fun are just overwhelming. Overwhelming. Think Stephen Merritt. Jonathan Richman. Morrisey. All of the obvious references and, I think, just as good.

It's hard to pick my favorite Jens Lekman line. Some favorites?

Yeah I got busted / so I used my one phone call to dedicate / a song to you on the radio

Nina I can be your boyfriend / so you can stay with your girlfriend
Your father is a sweet old man / but it is hard for him to understand /that you wanna love a woman

People seem to think a shy personality equals gifted / But if they would get to know one I'm sure that idea would have shifted / Most shy people I know are extremely boring

The new album is great, and ED and I went to see Jens Lekman at Webster Hall last Saturday. Also great, lots of fun, ageing and twee hipsters aside. Surrounded by a band of attractive and talented (presumably) Swedish women in what seemed like nurse's uniforms (and one man, manipulating the samples, in what appeared to be scrubs), Jens Lekman had no trouble in getting heads bobbing, feet shuffling, and wry and knowing smiles and stolen sideways glances through and through. A witty and joyful performer, Lekman just projected fun into the audience. Did I say 'fun' again? Well, there you have it. More charming was Lekman's promise, once the set ended (always early at the shitty Webster Hall, so that the B&T crowd can come in and do the club scene), to come down into the audience to "talk to anyone who wanted to talk," and his request that "if somebody knows another place where I can play, I'd be happy to play music all night." I hope someone took him up on it, and got him to a good Halloween party. Alas, I'm an old man, and didn't know one. And didn't think he wanted to entertain me in my studio apartment.