Jens Lekman - “Erica America”

The ever-so-adorable Swedish crooner Jens Lekman has a new record on the way, bearing the ever-so-wonderful title I Know What Love Isn’t. There’s the album art above. In an interview with Pitchfork, Lekman described the new album as a breakup record on which he picks apart the remains of a relationship — a played out topic that only a whimsical mastermind like Lekman could pull off creatively.

The debut single “Erica America” offers listeners an interesting glimpse at this new, wounded Lekman. His last full length Night Falls Over Kortedala had the Swedish songwriter singing in his gentle baritone over extravagant strings and horns and exuding an air of confidence that seems noticeably absent on this track. Here, Lekman sounds weary, and his lyrics reflect a certain sadness and bitterness as he sings about his lost, apparently American lover.

“Sinatra had his shit figured out, I presume,” he admits over gentle piano keys and Spanish guitar. Even the instrumentation seems toned down. Along with the melody and Lekman’s affected vocals, this track almost evokes the early work of Belle and Sebastian.

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Stream “Erica America” above via YouTube and preorder I Know What Love Isn’t from Secretly Canadian Records.