Life Will See You Now

Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now
Critic Score
Based on 29 reviews
2017 Ratings: #249 / 940
User Score
Based on 219 ratings
2017 Rank: #339
Liked by 1 person
February 17, 2017 / Release Date
LP / Format
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Entertainment Weekly

Blessed with a tenor as soothing as his thoughts are anxious, Lekman sets his insightful songs to the most spirited and diverse arrangements of his career.

100
The Guardian

He’s made the journey from spindly, insular indiepop to glorious, primary-coloured music, explicitly referencing 80s chart hits, soul, funk and disco.

95
Spectrum Culture
There’s a deep romanticism to everything, with a grounded sense of balance.
90
PopMatters

There’s a lot in Life Will See You Now to suggest that it’s Lekman’s finest album to date. It’s certainly his most refined and emotionally rich.

85
The Young Folks

Never one to get outside of himself for long, these story-songs are something new and unique from him, and the same can be said about the Magnetic Fields-esque electronic sonics. But he’s still the same old Jens, with the witty, intimate lyricism and tuneful power to prove it.

80
The Skinny

The finished product is articulate and bubbling with energy and positivity – much like Lekman himself.

80
God Is in the TV

After the struggle to make this album, it’s a relief to hear Lekman on such fine form.

80
Uncut
Despite his melancholy rep, Lekman's rarely sounded sunnier.
80
Clash

Unexpected musical influences and unlikely juxtapositions abound – to mixed success.

80
Pitchfork

On his fourth album, Jens Lekman opens up in new ways. He narrates the vulnerability of others, works with a producer, and crafts pop songs that absorb disco, calypso, and samba to soften their ache.

80
The Observer

This fourth album by Gothenburg’s master of the indie story song song finds him reinvigorated after 2012’s heartbroken I Know What Love Isn’t, kicked up the arse by drum machines.

80
Exclaim!

Life Will See You Now tackles life's most drastic ups and downs with good-natured empathy, making it both complex and comforting.

80
The Line of Best Fit

It’s an album of trying to understand why things happen, from burnt bridges to that first fight in a relationship, rather than simply realising they have happened.

80
Record Collector

Life Will See You Now won’t disappoint the devoted. Pop pleasures are myriad.

80
Evening Standard
The Swedish singer is both naff and brilliant on his fourth album.
77
Paste

Throughout, Lekman employs synth beats, calypso rhythms and gospel singers to actualize his creative vision. The result is engaging, if not terribly lasting.

75
The 405

There is a wide-eyed optimism pulsing through the heart of it which, twinned with Jens’ lovelorn, quirky poetry, is a sincere, open-hearted invitation.

75
Under the Radar

Snapping with flashlight disco, percussive tropicalia, palpable visuals, and devastating pomp, Jens Lekman opens the curtains to life's generous swimming pool with his signature singular musical contemplation and invites us to splash around on the ebullient Life Will See You Now.

73
GIGsoup

Gentle, humorous and gorgeous, Lekman crafts yet another album of melancholic, genre traversing pop music that is uniquely his own.

70
Loud and Quiet

Lekman’s playfully postmodern songwriting sands the edges off of topics that could otherwise be stale or rote.

70
Slant Magazine

Through the intricacies of Life Will See You Now, Lekman philosophizes about the profound with references to the incidental, encapsulating the transfixing nature of fleeting moments that can nevertheless come to define a life.

70
Rolling Stone

Although Lekman's voice sometimes sounds like Morrissey doing a Kermit the Frog impression, he revels in strong songwriting and brilliant hooks played on steel drums, funky horns and hip-hop bells.

70
AllMusic

Life comes across like the result of a songwriting exercise more than it does a true expression of emotions, like a career move instead of an honest progression and the first Jens Lekman record it's OK to skip.

70
Drowned in Sound

Life Will See You Now doesn’t quite hit the heights of 2007-era Lekman, but in his mid-thirties, Gothenburg’s favourite son remains a vital artist.

60
The Needle Drop

Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman goes full-on pop with his follow-up to 2012's I Know What Love Isn't.

60
musicOMH

This experimentation with styles and arrangements means that Life Will See You Now does feel a little jumbled, as though Lekman has failed to settle on a sound, but on the other hand it’s just about clear that this is sort of the point.

60
The Irish Times
Quality, toe-tappy indiepop with a sprinkling of understated glitz.
58
Pretty Much Amazing

I hated Life Will See You Now upon my first listen. By my second listen I knew when to brace myself. By my third, I developed a sick sort of love for it. But that love is in no way admiration.

52
Northern Transmissions

While occasionally alluring and raw, Life Will See You Now is more often than not a testament to over sharing.

TheRootBoy
82

Very strong lyricism and distinct stories on youth, vulnerability, and sorrow in a brimming pop-focused song writing style. I get a lot of Belle & Sebastian vibes from this man. It's chicken soup for a very modern art, contemporary soul---for the millennial soul in all of us.

tha138
68

He's cool, he's kind and he's my friend: Please welcome Mr. Jens Lekman, dressed in his fancier outfit and prepared to see more of you now, pretty relaxed in his brand new and handier chair.

lerkenfeldt
83

Favorite moments: To Know Your Mission, What's That Perfume That You Wear?, How Can I Tell Him.

CalvinIsMusic
78

Cheery and charming, this was a very nice listen

RokanPohan
75

Always down for a record with the primary adjective "fun". Jens lyricism is so strong here, both in terms of storytelling and humour, and it lends the record the feeling of a warm hug from a really kind person.

tha138
68

He's cool, he's kind and he's my friend: Please welcome Mr. Jens Lekman, dressed in his fancier outfit and prepared to see more of you now, pretty relaxed in his brand new and handier chair.

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Added on: January 4, 2017