Albums of the Decade - 50. Jens Lekman - Life Will See You Now (2017)

50. JENS LEKMAN - LIFE WILL SEE YOU NOW (2017) 

A fizzy sherbert of spring life, spring fever, spring in your step kind of album by one of the most earnest singer-songwriters out there. Spinning yarns was the thread here. It smells of sandalwood, just as per "What Is That Perfume You Wear" - Lekman was 36 when he wrote this - probably the kind of age that craving comforts kick in.

I have butterflies in my stomach as I type this and it's maybe this album that does it to me as when it came out I was in a hell of a situation in Stuttgart, Germany living in a place that was not my place - trying to make the most of a bad situation - which is what a lot of this aesthetic is about for Jens. He's come a long, long way and matured immensely since 2005 when he sang about killing the party again in "Black Cab." And that is what makes his crescendo-like career even more beautiful; rose petals in toilet times.

Albums of the Decade - 54. Fever Ray - Plunge (2017)

54. FEVER RAY - PLUNGE (2017)

There's a town in Lithuania called Plungė, which apparently has a crab-stick factory within it's amenities. Not sure Fever Ray would be into that, but when this album does get kicking, at around the third track, she does start singing about planting a walnut tree - which I take as a sexual euphemism or metaphor por favor. 

I actually saw her and her amazing band play in Vilnius in 2018 - her support act was Tami T - who works with Fever Ray on the aforementioned track "A Part Of Us" - but was warming up that night with a big-strap on Dildo that she beat as percussion. It was a mesmerising set littered with sexual euphemisms por favor.

Modern dating is often the cause for concern for both Tami T and Fever Ray - "IDK About You" - is the double flash negative stance that a lot of cautious minds take now because of Tinder and #metoo. Before there'd be takers. Now, when we do plunge into dating, we feel bored faster - so let's not jackknife maybe, and bring back not necessarily old chivalry - but ditch the apps and learn how to talk to people again.

Records of 2010 - 16. Dungen- Skit I Allt

Records of 2010 - 16. Dungen- Skit I Allt

This band keeps moving forwards. Every time. Psychedelia was the modus operandi in 2004 on"Ta Det Lugnt" and a folky influence was omnipresent on my favourite Dungen album "Stadsvandringar." 2007 and 2008 brought "Tio Bitar" and "4" respectively and the band have chilled out during these last few years. "Skit I Allt" translates as "Fuck it all" as in "Fuck it all, let's live now." So yea, forget your hang-ups and give this a whirl. It's not going to rock your socks off. If that's what you want, check out No Age's "Everything In Between" a little further down the list. This album mixes flutes with guitars with progress with autumn. Another blinder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJNAQG-lrE