Jens Lekman Takes Montreal Around The World at Le National

By: Matthew Brooks –

Sweden’s Jens Lekman is a living storybook; an artist brimming with tales, anecdotes, and yarns from around the world. October 5th marked his first visit to Montreal, as he performed for a full crowd at Le National, along with Victoria Bergsman’s solo project Taken By Trees.

The concert was part of his North American tour promoting his third album I Know What Love Isn’t. The album is his first in five years since 2007‘s Night Falls Over Kortedala; at one point he jokingly mentioned working on a new album that “hopefully won’t take another five years.”

The concert began dramatically with the lone pianist of Lekman’s backing band under the spotlight, plunking out an instrumental version of “Every Little Hair Knows Your Name,” an almost-corny intro as Lekman and the rest of the band strut on stage. Lekman garnered plenty of ecstatic cheers upon arriving in front of the microphone; in both Swedish and English.

Before “I Know What Love Isn’t”, Lekman explained the story behind it: while in Melbourne with a close female friend, they considered getting married for Lekman to retain Australian citizenship. But given the illegal nature of that, Lekman goes on to explain that doing so would prevent him from writing a song about it, and “that doesn’t work, if you’re Jens Lekman”.

Almost all of Lekman’s catchy pop tunes bear close personal ties to his life and experiences, and he did not shy away from telling them to the eager Montreal audience. To “anyone who has had their heart broken,” he dedicated the optimistic and exuberant “The End of the World is Bigger Than Love,” which was full of golden hooks and earworm melodies. Lekman’s gift for stories is enhanced by his witty and coy sense of humour. Before the well-known “Waiting For Kirsten,” he tells a long story of Kirsten Dunst’s trip to Gothenburg, Sweden, and how she almost came to one of his shows. The audience was content to listen to his detailed, almost five-minute long account of that night in Gothenburg. Lekman has a magnetic charm, and the entire audience loved his seemingly off-the-cuff comedic interludes.

Before “A Postcard To Nina,” he quietly strumed some chords and told the story of the time he went to visit his friend Nina in Berlin. He was invited to Nina’s parent’s house for dinner, and before knocking on their door, Nina informed him that she had told them that they were engaged; a guise for her to elope with her hidden female partner. Lekman goes to great detail, even describing awkward interactions with his “pretend” father-in-law. His music is also detailed like his stories: it is pure, well-crafted, and Lekman interacts actively with his talented backing band.

Throughout the concert he explored a wide variety of colours: his band comprising a violinist, drummer, bassist and a pianist. The violinist was used perhaps most prominently, often to add certain warmth to the heartfelt stories of Lekman.

This engaging, personal connection to the audience was only strengthened throughout the show. Stiff audience members were dancing and bobbing within a few songs, and later Lekman even got the entire room dancing to groovy, disco backbeat versions of some of his older material. After an energetic burst of dance numbers, he concluded the evening on a beautiful, sentimental note with “Every Little Hair Knows Your Name,” describing it as a song about “the body’s memory.”

Overall, I Know What Love Isn’t feels like much more than a “breakup album”, but rather as a collection of stories and wisdom from Lekman’s life. Lekman’s set felt like a private discussion, with stories and lessons learned being shared. After spending only an evening at this concert, you feel like you have been friends with Jens for years.