Song of the Day | Jens Lekman: "What's That Perfume That You Wear?"

It’s been just over four years since we’ve been lucky enough to hear some new material from Sweden’s best pop troubadour, Jens Lekman, but today that long cold streak comes to an end. In advance of his forthcoming album, Life Will See You Now out 2/17 via Secretly Canadian, Lekman has issued his new single, “What’s That Perfume You Wear?’

The song bears all the hallmarks of a classic Lekman tune. Sonically it’s perfect. A strong bossa nova meets disco groove replete with steel drums and a kick drum that explodes but doesn’t overtake the proceedings. The layers upon layers of instrumentation are so wonderfully mixed that every last little bit of percussion gets a chance to shine.  Lyrically Lekman knows exactly how much melancholy to bring to the table without making things feel dour. In his tale of love lost when he sings in the chorus, “she’s gone forever, and however how hard that may be, at least it was real, if it can hurt like that.” He’s so good at this kind of bittersweet sentiment. One that makes your heart soar instead of crashing and that can warm you up even on the coldest winter day.