Jens Lekman

On the title track of his most recent EP, An Argument With Myself, Swedish pop songsmith Jens Lekman likens backpackers leaving a hostel to a “tidal wave of vomit,” in between schizophrenic spoken-word sections. This is what David Byrne would sound like in a Swedish Wes Anderson film, or maybe Belle and Sebastian on ’shrooms. The album is flecked through with the hallmarks of twee pop—high string flourishes, whistles, handclaps—but surreal lyrics send it soaring above the endless morass associated with the genre.

The first, eponymous track is a spacey conversation between drunk Jens and drunker Jens with profane interjections and musings on tourists, failed relationships and self-loathing. The next song, “Waiting for Kirsten,” serves as a charming ditty about Jens trying to track down (stalk, really) Kirsten Dunst while she films Melancholia in Jens’ native Gothenberg, Sweden; it also delivers criticism on the increasing Swedish class separation along the way. These two are the strongest tracks on the album, buoyed by infectious hooks and interesting stories. In the third (and third-best) track, “A Promise,” Lekman croons more and tells a story of mildly homoerotic oenophilia, but the instrumentals are a little too soft-jazzy, and Lekman’s voice lacks the resonance needed to pull off the swoon he’s going for. And the following song, “New Directions,” comes off a bit like Glee, actually—a forced conglomeration of OK Go bass, Beatles horns and generic female back-up vocals, with a baffling saxophone solo. The closing track, “So This Guy At My Office,” is Lekman’s stab at reggae, and it turns out about as well as you’d expect. It ends the album with a whimper, not a bang.

This is Lekman’s ninth widely released EP, and by this point, most artists have picked a style or two and settled in. Lekman hasn’t, and it produces mixed results. He resists the allure of the mainstream, or even of a single stylistic identity, but sacrifices consistency by doing so. He shines when he’s aping Talking Heads, and if he’d just stick to that, he’d produce a number of solid, interesting albums—instead of this promising but scattered rollercoaster.