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In rotation: Jens Lekman’s ‘An Argument With Myself’

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A series in Sunday Calendar about what Times writers & contributors are listening to right now...

As even a cursory sweep through Jens Lekman’s material proves, the Swedish pop raconteur often talks to himself, so it was only a matter of time till he got into “An Argument With Myself,” which he at least had the good graces to capture on EP.

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It’s been four years since the resplendent full-length “Night Falls Over Kortedala,” which mined the revelations and stumbles in Lekman’s experiences, including the time he posed as his lesbian friend’s boyfriend to her conservative father.

Here, the adventures continue, like on the title song, where Lekman struggles to get home in Melbourne, Australia, cutting through crowds of reggae-listening backpackers, all set to a scampering Caribbean rhythm and Afropop-kissed guitars.

On “Waiting for Kirsten,” Lekman learns that Ms. Dunst is in his native Gothenburg to shoot Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.” He engages in a little friendly stalking for a night but the song, with its strings tinged with mourning, is really a testament to the changing character of Gothenburg. VIP lines don’t exist at the city’s clubs, but they do, Lekman admits in his confessional lilt, for healthcare, apartments and jobs.

Jens Lekman
“An Argument With Myself”
(Secretly Canadian)

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