Jens Lekman

Another Swedish import with an unerring knack for mimicking American music, Jens Lekman eschews the crowd-pleasing rush of garage rock and disco his countrymen have mastered for an absolutely charming take on Tin Pan Alley. Certain traits initially earned Lekman comparisons to fellow maudlin stylists Morrissey and Stephin Merritt, but the similarities were mostly surface, as Lekman proved himself both warmer and less wry than those masters of glum.

Granted, Lekman isn’t entirely straight-faced. He knows the value of a good joke, and he doesn’t fear offering himself up as a punch line, either, if the self-effacement supports the song. His most recent album, Night Falls Over Kortedala (2007), showed God cutting the gentle baritone’s hair on the cover and closed with “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo.” On “A Postcard to Nina,” he pretends to be a lesbian’s boyfriend at a family dinner: “Nina, I can be your boyfriend / So you can stay with your girlfriend.” Delivered free of irony, the winning mix of smarts and heart recalls a time when both could be offered up without a wink.

For a writer of such lushly composed and finely wrought songs, Lekman’s a surprisingly loose and entertaining performer. For this run, the 28-year-old brings along not only some in-the-works tunes but his full band as well, replete with horn section and blond backups. His modest demeanor prevents him from fully bubbling up from the underground, but that shy amiability is hearth in this dead-of-winter setting.

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