This month I’m featuring my top 20 albums of the past decade, to celebrate 10 years of This Must Be Pop! Click here to see all the Decade of Pop posts so far.
In 2007 I spent several months living in Gothenburg, Jens Lekman’s hometown, and during that time this album was released. I even saw him perform in a record store to promote it, but at the time I had no idea that Jens would go on to become one of my favourite artists, so I didn’t even bother to queue up to meet him. Although it wasn’t until I returned home to England that I really fell in love with this album, it still brings back great memories of my time in Sweden, because I feel like it is a true representation of Swedish culture.
Fans of acts like ABBA and Alcazar may believe that Sweden is camp and colourful 24/7, but actually the Swedes are very reserved, intelligent people. Jens’ witty and touching lyrics capture life as a young Swede, combining references that foreigners might not recognise (such as Zingo, the Swedish answer to Fanta) with stories that have universal appeal. Every song features a unique tale that hasn’t been told before in music, and I still notice new details every time I listen. Check out the catchy Friday Night at the Drive-in Bingo and anthemic And I Remember Every Kiss as an intro to Jens.