The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom
Released
The act of being whisked through someone’s record collection while hearing about their day or their dreams could be, and usually is, tedious and unwarranted. Thank merciful Christ for the Swedes. Through deep cut samples and original arrangements, Jens Lekman crafts a witty tour of disco and Motown that soundtracks singalong heartbreak of the finest kind. With the bells and clapping (and occasional tempo changes) in the ode to feeling stumped by nature and aging of “The Opposite of Hallelujah,” and the doo-wop of “A Postcard to Nina” kicking Jens from meeting his love to meeting her parents, the album is a celebration of the small and awkward feelings we’d rather keep inside being blasted out with joyful abandon.