Matt Brundage

Jens Lekman and the improbable synchronicity

Small Image A few years ago, KEXP introduced me to the music of Jens Lekman, a Swedish-born singer-songwriter. I was immediately taken with his blend of indie pop, with a sound reminiscent of a less-snooty Sufjan Stevens, or perhaps a peppier Stephin Merritt or the Smiths. I picked up his second album, the excellent Night Falls Over Kortedala.

Recently, I put his album into heavy rotation again, for no single defining reason. I was particularly drawn to “Shirin”, a song in which Jens falls for his Persian hairdresser: the song’s namesake, Shirin.

When Shirin cuts my hair it’s like a love affair / Let those locks fall to the ground or let them stay mid-air…

Shirin pulls my head to the side, but in the mirror I can see a tear in her eye…

The song is charming (but not mawkishly so) and is impeccably arranged, with Beach Boys-esque “ooos” and “aaahs” rounding out an ample, wordless vocal tag. In short, “Shirin” alone is deserving of its own blog post, but wait, there’s more.

Last week, while walking home from work, I saw a generic-looking business card in the street gutter. Now, 99.9% of the time, I don’t just go picking up random pieces of garbage off the street, but for some reason this business card (lying face-down, mind you!) piqued my interest as I bent down to pick it up.

Shirin apparently works at Hair Cuttery

One Response to “Jens Lekman and the improbable synchronicity”

  1. Matt says:

    Definitely a crazy coincidence! That’s when you know there’s a rhyme to the universe. Although not always apparent, it’s good to be reassured once in a while. :)