(Taken from the SCQ Review:)
For fans who just tuned in since Night Falls Over Kortedala, Lekman was as sample-happy in his earlier days as he is now, with several of these "Oh You're So Silent Jens" snippets completely lifted from its source artists (Lekman openly admits as much, stating that he only stole them because he couldn’t afford to pay the $$$ to ‘borrow’ them). As is expected, these samples are used perfectly, from the Belle and Sebastian swagger of ‘Black Cab’ to the Avalanches’ influence of ‘Maple Leaves’. With a songwriting talent as diverse as Lekman’s, the only way to really identify one of these samples is if you’ve heard the original; otherwise it fits in as another great song in this young crooner’s catalogue.
At seventeen tracks compiled from 7-inch singles and EPs, “Oh You’re So Silent, Jens” is surprisingly fluid albeit a few mediocre tracks. ‘Pocketful of Money’ suffers from a baritone-heavy chorus that quickly itches your stereo-remote finger, while ‘F-Word’, with its recordings of neighbourhood alley-cats calling out, is simply overshadowed by the songs around it. For those aching over last year’s Night Falls Over Kortedala, I beseech you to hear this compilation album of Jens' finest folk and balladry.
No comments:
Post a Comment