You're So Not Silent, Jens
Were we a closeted German lesbian, we’d totally bring Jens Lekman home to Daddy. The fair-haired, fey-mannered 26-year-old Swedish songsmith could definitely play the part of doting boyfriend, while his self-deprecating shy charm and boyish good looks would overwhelm any parental attempts to suss out the real nature of our relationship. To that end, during last night’s sold-out show at Nectar, Jens introduced "A Postcard to Nina" with the true story behind the song, in which his gay penpal in Berlin ambushed him into being her beard (or merkin, if you prefer) for the sake of pleasing her Catholic father. It was pitch-perfect Jens Lekman—walking the fine line between precious and twee, somehow managing to be sweet without giving you a toothache. That’s essential for a singer-songwriter who has deadpan lyrics about asthma inhalers and slicing avocados, and (just once) rhymes "number two" with "coochie-coo," all without inducing groans or eyerolls.
Jens warned the crowd that he was losing his voice, but his deep, rich baritone sounded spot-on to us. Throughout the set, he did a few songs solo on guitar (including, as predicted, an encore cover of "You Can Call Me Al"), but most of the time he was backed by his six white-clad ladyfriends on a variety of instruments, as well as Viktor Per Sjöberg, who provided the laptop flourishes and samples. Young Mr. Lekman crooned his way through most of the baroque pop from Night Falls Over Kortedala, while also hitting the high points from his previous two releases Oh You're So Silent Jens ("Maple Leaves," "Black Cab") and When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog ("You are the Light"). Since Jens comes from the land of ABBA, some of his songs have more of a disco feel, like latest single "Sipping on the Sweet Nectar," the performance of which included Jens and company aping the video by "flying" around the stage, arms spread. With his upbeat rhythms, sunny melodies, and shimmering harmonies, Jens adds some real depth to his witty and heartfelt lyrics. His super-cute, endearingly captivating show last night proved that he can bring it live. We can only hope that dear Jens brings it on back to town sometime soon.
Photo care of Bruce Maeder.
