Life Will See You Now

For Jens Lekman’s newest, Life Will See You Now, the Swedish pop-maker weaves a sonic tapestry of disco, calypso, samba and bossa nova to create his most charismatic work yet. While “How Can I Tell Him” feels more akin to Lekman’s earlier work, with a slightly more folk-pop timbre of simple strings over clean drums, “Wedding in Finistère” experiments with lively, calypso-style horn lines and rich keys, jumping effortlessly into quick polyrhythmic hooks. Though these new rhythmic shifts have a strong presence, Lekman does a great job of seamlessly blending them into his older, more smooth pop style without making the songs feel too cluttered, especially on tunes like “Dandelion Seed.” Lekman has that soft Scandinavian diction that suits his narrative delivery of everyday chronicles, ranging from trying to pin down a nostalgic perfume to conversations about what-ifs with a bride. It’s a lot, but his meticulous execution makes it all seem easy.