silence kit #17

Jens Lekman
Night Falls Over Kortedala [Secretly Canadian, 2007]

I have been using this CD as a mirror in my room every morning these days. (Don't ask me why it matters.) I bought my copy of Night Falls Over Kortedala in Brussels two years ago (also bought Caribou's Andorra at the same store) during a November spent vacationing in Europe. The autumn season felt right for Lekman's sort of music. I listened to this on the hourlong train ride from Brussels to Bruges, upon a friend's recommendation, with some pretty confused emotions - bits and pieces of elation from being alone and away from home, while at the same time feeling like the world's most miserable sod for being away from home for too long. Bruges was fine though. It was a strange time in my life. Every time now I hear "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You" I think of the smell of European rain at 4am in the morning. For some strange reason "A Postcard To Nina" always remind me of the Velvets' "I'll Be Your Mirror". I caught Jens Lekman perform twice where I live. The first performance, a good nine months or so before the release of Night Falls Over Kortedala, was revelatory and quite possibly one of the most memorable gig experiences for me. Jens did an awesome "Opposite Of Hallelujah". The second a year later was easily one of the worst. I read that Jens was down with the swine flu. I wish him a speedy recovery.