Bulldog

Cool as it'd be for it to be something akin to the world cup draw, I just take people's names out a hat and pair them up that way. So, nah, nowt spectacular!

Anyhoo, this one from Dreadnaught...

Jens Lekman - Oh You're Silent Jens

I'd be lying if I said I knew Dreadnaught's musical tastes inside-out, so I didn't really have any idea what to expect when we ended up being paired up for this thing. She did tell me it was something she initially had in mind for the last themed trade (the wintry one), so that gave me some idea, albeit a very vague one.

What I ended up with was a very cold (oddly enough), downbeat and lyric-centric album, dominated by Lekman's deep, throaty vocal. It makes for an interesting, piano-led, indie-leaning slant on folk, and there definitely is a gorgeous atmosphere to the album as a whole conjured by some great performances behind the keyboard. In the main, it's a fairly sedated album and perfect for a spin or two on a cold, sober night in on your lonesome. There are one or two more uptempo moments to be found (like the terrific Maple Leaves), but in the main it's an album that's nicely summed up by the cover art. There's the occasional (sparse) use of brass and studio trickery like alternating vocal tracks dotted around here too.

A very good album for sure then. It didn't exactly blow me away but, then again, it's very very rarely that a new album I get does. I'm glad I got this though, so ta for the link!