Jens Lekman and Bon Iver On Radio K

Download: Jens Lekman - "It Was A Strange Time In My Life" (via Radio K)
Download: Bon Iver - "Creature Fear" (via Radio K)

Not at the same time, mind you. That would make April Wright's head explode out of pure joy. We certainly don't want that. But both Jens Lekman and MFR Favorite Bon Iver stopped by, at separate times, the Radio K studios to record tracks for their death metal side project Iverlekmanbon.

Wait, that's not right at all.

No, they stopped by to do some live tracks off of their releases Night Falls Over Kortedala and For Emma, Forever Ago, respectively. You can hear one track from each session at the top of the post. For the rest, go here, ye merry gentlemen/women. Thanks to P4K for the tip.

Jens Lekman Official Site
Bon Iver MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Jens Lekman Plays An Encore In Chicago Neighborhood Apartment

(Imeem, via Pitchfork)

Download: Jens Lekman - "The Opposite Of Hallelujah"

Subject line says it all and holy crap! In all likelihood, I was feet from where this was happening, having dinner with my lovely ladyfriend. The encore in question (which consists of renditions of "Julie" and "Tram 7 To Heaven") took place in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, home to the Logan Square Auditorium, where Jens Lekman played this past Friday, the 2nd. The auditorium is right next to this awesome cafe called Lula. Excellent trivia note, kids: Ira Glass has called Lula one of his favorite places to eat in Chicago.

So, as we all know, Jens played Minneapolis' Triple Rock Social Club (which itself has some pretty tasty grub) the next night, Saturday the 3rd. Did Jens do something similar for that night? Did anyone happen to catch it, either in the flesh or on videotape? If so, leave a comment or email me at Jon AT minneapolisfuckingrocks DOT com. Thanks.

(Jonathan Graef)

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

Download: Jens Lekman - "The Opposite Of Hallelujah"
Download: Jens Lekman - "A Postcard To Nina"
Download: Jens Lekman - "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You"

Jens Lekman
Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian, 2007)
Grade: A

Dramz and double dramz! Swedish sweetheart Jens Lekman has a new album out, and hot damn is it marvelous. His third collection of material, Night Falls Over Kortedala, was released last week on Secretly Canadian. The album was released internationally in September.

I don't know what I like better: Jens Lekman's cleverness or his flair for the dramatic. Lekman has always had a knack for capturing awkwardly sweet moments, awkward inner turmoil and pretty much anything else prefixed with "awkward." Lekman's lyric writing has always been among the best in the biz. "A Postcard to Nina" captures a graceless attempt to look like an upstanding citizen the first time he meets his former significant others' parents with the utmost of lyrical grace and humor. "It Was a Strange Time In My Life" covers vows of silence and shyness brutally clean honesty. And the entire album is permeated with a sense of honesty that elicits both howls of laughter and uncomfortable snickers. Lekman's lyrics are a thing of beauty.

And then that flair for the dramatic. Night Falls has a crazy amount of orchestral samples and fancy production effects. It's like the most nightmare-ish 70's music you can imagine pulled into this century and transformed into something fresh and sexy. Most of that can probably be credited to incredibly eclectic and saucy drumbeats that give a certain cheekiness to every song. The smooth violins, samples from musicals, and vocal production effects give a thick layer of gloss to the whole album. But even with all the sheen, the album is obviously very carefully calculated and assembled. Night Falls, while it doesn't cover much new sonic territory is a perfect example of how production can enhance the intent, emotion and drama in simple songs.

Lekman will be in town for a 21+ show at the Triple Rock Social Club on Nov. 3. Lekman has been known to format his shows in a wide range of ways: a capella, with a backing band and with a backing orchestra (he probably won't be dragging them to the T-Rock, though). While he's a mixed bag of styles, his reviews are consistently strong. He's well worth checking out.

(April Wright)