Upon a casual listen, Jens Lekman's new compilation Oh You're So Silent Jens may sound like conventional orchestral pop, but closer inspection reveals an obscure and eccentric release that embraces pop while circumventing traditional tendencies. Lekman's peculiar lyrical styling compounds with sparkling, nuanced production to create a unique addition to anyone's pop collection.
Oh You're So Silent Jens is a compilation of recent B-sides, extended plays and singles from Lekman's blossoming career. Therefore, it surveys the spectrum of his music highlighting both the vibrant and mundane. Although inconsistent at times, this compilation is bound to breed a love it or hate it attitude.
The focus of Lekman's music is certainly his personality. He sings in a booming monotonous baritone similar to Morrisey but with a major reduction of self-righteousness and flamboyancy. Lekman performs with a relentless deadpan delivery. This sincerity becomes bizarre in respect to his lyrics. For example, "Sky Phenomenon" finds him singing, "You stare at the sky, colors reflecting in your eye / could it be, what they call the northern lights / but here and at this time of year / it's like someone spilled the beer all over the atmosphere / it's like someone spilled the beer."
Additionally, he sings "A flock of birds, in the sky / flying south they know this place will die / and I wish they could take me with them / but I would not be accepted / cause I can't dance the funky chicken / I can't dance the funky chicken." How should one interpret such lyrics when presented in such a serious, somber tone? The conflict of content and demeanor may serve as deliberate self-effacement to add a touch of humor amidst the caresses of emotion. This conscious display of irreverence may also preclude the classical appeal of the music. However, such peculiarities may simply be Lekman's twisted perception of American pop styling.
Lekman's Swedish roots may tinge his music with subtle obscurity like a foreign film's translation to English. His Swedish accent is most noticeable when he substitutes the lisp quality of "th" with the hard texture of "d" (instead of "father", he says "fadder"). These peculiarities add to Lekman's charisma and his playfulness never falls from grace into mocking. His love of American orchestral pop should not be questioned.
The instrumentation is mostly spare arrangements of acoustic or clean electric guitar, spectral piano, simple percussive elements such as hand snaps, fluid bass, and light orchestral touches. Although most songs stick to this formula, there are enough elements to maintain a fresh, varied sound. There are a few songs that go beyond the foundation with lush orchestral flourishes such as coruscating string sections and cavernous bells. At first, these songs evoke the lo-fi Phil Spector aesthetic that gives way to a striking comparison to the far more contemporary genre hopping, sample-heavy synthesis of The Avalanches. Once again, what appears to be traditional pop on initial impression later reveals a far more eccentric sound. Nowhere is this better exemplified than "Maple Leaves" which sets undulating strings, percolating bells, breezy woodwinds, pristine electric guitar flicks, and frosty female backing vocals to a danceable bass and drums section. The compressed snare drum and high hat groove with rolls of timpani that echo with bombast.
Like The Avalanches, Lekman utilizes samples to add familiar and/or ambient textures to his music. On "Black Cab" he samples a song by Belle and Sebastian, which fits nicely with Lekman's twee sensibility, and on "F-word" he samples the ambient drawl of stray cats outside his window. Lekman's tendency to sample enhances the sonic palette that removes his music from the classic pop tradition.
Oh You're So Silent Jens is a definitive statement of the artist's work and his highest quality release. Lekman's 2004 album When I Said I Wanted to be Your Dog may be more cohesive but lacks restraint in its playful corniness. For listeners that enjoy The Smiths, Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian and Phil Spector productions, Jens Lekman should be a reliable draw. His sincere style of pop may seem too traditional for some, but a full exploration of his music reveals a peculiar subversiveness that no fan of progressive music should deny.
Grade: B
