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Jens Lekman Shaves His Head for Stark ‘Erica America’ Video

Jens Lekman

If Jens Lekman is entering his “blue” period, he sure makes a striking Old Guitarist. His head freshly shaved, his attire unusually dark and drab, the Swedish singer and songwriter brings the exquisite heartbreak of “Erica America” to life beside a dingy, turquoise-hued freight elevator in the song’s starkly arresting new video. From Lekman’s upcoming first album in five years, I Know What Love Isn’t, due out on September 4 via Secretly Canadian (one day earlier in the U.K. and EU), the song is beautifully bereft, finding the painful transcendence in being utterly defenseless, and the video neatly follows suit, with direction by masterful past collaborator Marcus Söderlund.

“Erica America” is both emotionally and musically rich — replete with vivid lyrics and string flourishes — and yet also, in its unplugged quality, relatively clear production values, and intensity of feeling, somehow completely naked. With gorgeous cinematography, this one-shot performance video achieves a similar effect, showing Lekman and his backing band in a bleak, shadowy setting that emphasizes the subtleties of their performance, as sunlight glints through the windows. “Summer’s exhausting me, with these exhaust fumes and empty promises / And promises of no more empty promises,” Lekman croons, straight-faced. This video evokes both the emptiness and the promises. The song sardonically mentions Sinatra, but he had his In the Wee Small Hours, too.

Jens Lekman Tour Dates:
July 28 – Castelbasso, IT @ Soundlabs Festival
September 10 – Helsinki, FI @ Tavastia
September 11 – Århus, DK @ Train
September 12 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
September 13 – Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller
September 14 – Malmö, SE @ KB
September 15 – Gothenburg, SE @ Pustervik
September 17 – Stockholm, SE @ Dramaten
September 19 – Manchester, UK @ Ruby Lounge
September 20 – London, UK @ Hackney Empire
September 21 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
September 23 – Paris, FR @ Gaité Lyrique
September 24 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie
September 25 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli de Helling
September 26 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof
October 1 – Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater
October 2 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
October 4 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix
October 5 – Montreal, QB @ National
October 6 – Boston, MA @ Royale
October 8 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
October 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
October 12 – Washington, DC @ 930 Club
October 13 – Richmond, VA @ National
October 15 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
October 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety
November 1 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
November 2 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
November 3 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theater
November 5 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore Auditorium
November 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
November 8 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
November 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
November 12 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theate
r November 13 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
November 14 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s