He has toured extensively worldwide, performed with fellow Swede Jose Gonzalez and topped the Swedish charts, as well as garnering a devoted following for his early releases such as ‘Maple Leaves’ and ‘Rocky Dennis’ (the disfigured protagonist of the 1985 American film Mask) on Service through to his latest and greatest opus, 2007’s ‘Night Falls Over Kortadella’ on alternative label Secretly Canadian.

Kortadella is actually the district of Gothenberg the wistful Swede grew up in, and the majority of his album was recorded in a small bleak flat in the area, which is somehow almost mirrored by the bleak melancholic aura that pervades the 12-track, full-length album. But to dismiss the man’s music solely as bleak would be doing him an injustice; his often sad tones and textures are layered with a witty warm romantic vocals – a la Morrissey, Belle & Sebastian or Johnathan Richman – that can make the heart and knees tremble.

These witty lyrics of love, longing and reminiscence, coupled with a clever mastery of sampling and his own guitar playing come together to meld into something akin to swoonsome pop music of the very highest order and a treat certainly not to be missed.

Jens Lekman plays the Róisín Dubh on Saturday 24 May and tickets are available now from Zhivago, Redlight Records and the Róisín Dubh bar. Members can purchase tickets online at www.roisindubh.net.

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