Meet and Greet of Life and Self
Life Will See You Now is the fourth album to come from Jens Lekman, following previous works that seemed only to progress further into despair. With this newest LP, though, a weight has been lifted, allowing for an exploration of self to occur.
The album opens with “To Know Your Mission” and, with its upbeat show tune-like qualities, the changes since the last album are made readily apparent. The song is a quick narration of unfolding life and trying to find a sole purpose. Following this comes “Evening Prayer,” which, still utilizing the effect of an upbeat groove, becomes an insight on different levels of intimacy between two people. From here, the album takes a turn to look more closely at relationships. Near the end, we encounter another turn in the form of “Postcard #17,” as the remnants of past albums echo through. After the narrative conveyed during the first half of the LP, this introspective moment comes as a reprieve rather than dragging down the overall levity of previous songs. Finally, the album ends with “Dandelion Seed,” as its easy-going guitar riffs and crooning over relationship woes leave behind a feeling of wistfulness and melancholy.
Life Will See You Now exhibits Lekman’s evolution as a songwriter and a human. Though never joyful, the album remains light as it explores simple yet deep moments of life, suggesting that there is room to breathe while we figure it out. Even in more solemn songs like “Postcard #17,” the music remains simplistic and with that comes the ability to dismantle complicated emotions and situations into more manageable individual pieces. At the end of it all, Life Will See You Now is about tackling life without ever becoming bitter towards it.
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