Jens Lekman “An Argument With Myself”
Once we get all old and wrinkly with the energy to do nothing but sip on the sweet nectar of our memories, Jens Lekman is the guy we want hanging around us to put our entire life story into song.
Who else could we trust but the Swedish singer-songwriter with the tender baritone croon and flair for the grandiose to be able to compile together our recollections of every great romance we’ve ever had, the many fascinating people we’ve come across, and the numerous fragments of tiny everyday moments that have lingered in the corners of our minds for decades with inject them with just the right amount of schmaltz, melancholy, humor and colorful detail?
After stunning critics and an ever-growing cult fanbase with a series of EP’s and two full lengths (2004′s When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog and 2007′s massively acclaimed breakthrough Night Falls Over Kortedala), Lekman has returned with “An Argument With Myself”, the teaser cut and title cut of his first release in four years, and like damn near everything else he puts to tape, it’s an instant winner on first listen.
Set to a galloping burst of Afro-pop jubilance that gives the impression that someone’s been surviving on a strict diet of Graceland in his time away, Jens is heard here literally having an argument with himself while walking down the streets of what seems to be Australia.
“Fuck you, no, you fuck you!/ You didn’t come here for nothing, did you?” he pipes out loud, likely bringing about freaked out glances from the many backpackers he passes by on his journey. What’s really going on here? We don’t know (a schizophrenic attack maybe?), but his occasional references to a two-year-old photograph in his back pocket, mystery initials on flowers that make him pause, and the chiming of bells that bring about memories of a shadow that used to “walk by (his) side/ In a different time, in a different city” (not to mention the way he somberly lingers on that “a love like ours” lyric in the song’s final line) has us thinking his troubles are stemming from a woman in his past he hasn’t quite gotten over.
Kinda disturbing, but with that joyous tropical bounce and Jens’ gorgeous melodies helping balance out all the darkness with sweet-to-the-ear pleasantness, it’s hard to argue against “An Argument With Myself” earning non-stop replays until it’s mini-parent album arrives in September.
Stream/ download the track below, pre-order the EP here, then snatch up a bonus download of Lekman paying further tribute to Paul Simon in a beautifully stripped-down acoustic rendition of the folk-pop legend’s “You Can Call Me Al” (Lip-syncing Chevy Chase, unfortunately, not included).
Jens Lekman – An Argument With Myself (DL)
BONUS DL:
Jens Lekman – You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon Cover) (DL)
