Jens Lekman Breaks His Silence With An ‘Argument’: Buzz Cut

Since his 2007 Night Falls Over Kortedala, Jens Lekmana Swedish songwriter with more wit and poetic rhythm in the English language than most native speakershas tortured us with silence ever since. With only just a few, sparsely released singles that were still able to maintain interest from loyal fans since then, Lekman is now finally promoting his upcoming EP, An Argument With Myself, with an early release of the title track.

And so the silence is broken thanks to expertly weaving guitar licks, ricocheting beats, and Lekman’s stream of consciousness that so naturally falls into the form of great song lyrics.

After listening to “An Argument With Myself,” it is no surprise to read on Lekman’s Wikipedia page that his influences include Belle and Sebastian. With the track’s quick guitar licks and prominent tropical percussion, Lekman gives us a sunny beat to bounce on while simultaneously narrating a sad, existential story.

Like so many Belle and Sebastian songs (“Piazza, New York Catcher” stands out as an example), Lekman layers his melancholy lyrics over bright music to emphasize his story’s weight. We’ve all heard moody songs about a singers’ emotional angst, but Lekman doesn’t need dark chords to intensify his story, and so he lets us dance while spilling his internal argument.

A good sign for the EP to come, “An Argument With Myself” is quite a refreshing track to listen to, compared with the avant-garde electronic noise out there these days. You can download the song for free here or take a listen below.