As the classic song goes: “You broke Jens Lekman’s heart [sometime between 2007’s Night Falls Over Kortedala (upbeat TMT Review) and last year’s An Argument with Myself EP (slightly less-enthusiastic TMT Review)] / Cuz he couldn’t dance /You didn’t even want him around / But now he’s back [with a new album titled I Know What Love Isn’t, coming September 4 via Secretly Canadian (and September 3 in the UK and Europe)] to let you know / He can really [moan and mope and still make money off of that situation!]”
Shit, okay, maybe that’s not how the song goes, but that’s probably how Lekman’s version would go! And this is his news story, afterall; not whoeverthefuck’s nobody-ass that wrote that original song. Heck, I’m not even going to look it up because I’m so jazzed about this new thing that his handlers are describing as “the story of the grey areas of love that you have to excavate and explore, using the method of exclusion, to find out what love is.” In other words, we’ve got a Forrest Gump concept album on our hands, people! It’s about goddamn time, too. I was getting tired of syncing up Metallica’s “One” with the Vietnam scenes over and over again.
But wait, there’s more: “I Know What Love Isn’t has strings but not a string section, an upright piano not grand, a single saxophone, gracenotes from a flute, a lot of tambourine. Combined in exact proportions with Lekman’s melancholy abstract lyrics.” In other words, the new album also promises to be very economical, which is totally fitting when you consider the difficult financial climate all around the world. Oh you’re so responsible, Jens! But let’s hear a single, already. Take it away, awful-sounding YouTube:
I Know What Love Isn’t tracklisting:
01. Every Little Hair Knows Your Name
02. Erica America
03. Become Someone Else’s
04. Some Dandruff on Your Shoulder
05. She Just Don’t Want to Be With You Anymore
06. I Want a Pair of Cowboy Boots
07. The World Moves On
08. The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love
09. I Know What Love Isn’t
10. Every Little Hair Knows Your Name
Tourdates:
07.28.12 - Castelbasso, Italy - Soundlabs Festival
09.10.12 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
09.11.12 - Århus, Denmark - Train
09.12.12 - Copenhagen, Denmakr - Vega
09.13.12 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
09.14.12 - Malmö, Sweden - KB
09.15.12 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Pustervik
09.17.12 - Stockholm, Sweden - Dramaten
09.19.12 - Manchester, UK - Ruby Lounge
09.20.12 - London, UK - Hackney Empire
09.21.12 - Brighton, UK - The Haunt
09.23.12 - Paris, France - Gaité Lyrique
09.24.12 - Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
09.25.12 - Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli de Helling
09.26.12 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
• Jens Lekman: http://www.jenslekman.com
• Secretly Canadian: http://www.secretlycanadian.com
[Photo: Kristin Lidell]
More about: Jens Lekman
