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Oh You're So Silent Jens

EMAILPRINTby Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman reviews
79
8.1 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 13 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 29 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >

Album Info

Label: Secretly Canadian

Release Date: 22 November 2005

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Indie, Rock

Summary

This CD collects tracks from the Swedish artist's most recent EPs and singles.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91

Entertainment Weekly

[He] peppers his dour dedications with a deadpan, Morrissey-esque wit. [9 Dec 2005, p.89]

91

Stylus Magazine

The result is in some ways immensely pleasing (at its best the quality here is easily the equal of the songs from the proper album), but at seventeen songs and a full hour in length Oh You're So Silent Jens suffers a bit, predictably, from too much of a good thing.

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90

musicOMH.com

The real glory of this record resides in the way in which Lekman blends his bottled sunshine melodies with droll and romantic word play.

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90

All Music Guide

If you haven't heard Jens Lekman yet, you're missing out on one of the true pop geniuses of the early 2000s.

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85

Pitchfork

A marvel of pure songcraft.

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80

Tiny Mix Tapes

There is just something so appealing about such guileless, honest music, music that sounds like it was easily made, and that makes it look so easy to do.

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80

Prefix Magazine

It’s promising indeed when an album that most artists would be happy to have as their pièce de résistance still shows plenty of room for growth.

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80

Almost Cool

At times, the album gets a little too sappy for its own good, but it's never enough to derail things.

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70

PopMatters

An ideal introduction to his perpetually growing body or work.

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70

Mojo

A surprisingly consistent listen, albeit one that's akin to gorging on Christmas cake. [Feb 2006, p.102]

60

Q Magazine

Lekman is an intriguing bedsit poet whose whispered ramblings can sometimes melt the heart. [Mar 2006, p.108]

49

cokemachineglow

The problem lies in the fact that it’s extremely accomplished, but ultimately boring; there's just no emotional or musical development.

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40

No Ripcord

Slogging through the whole disc for the few shining moments just isn’t worth it.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andrew M gave it a10:
love it

Sara gave it a10:
I love him, his lyrics are perfect in everyway, almost

Steven L gave it an8:
A very good listen.

ken t gave it a5:
The humor is so intermittent, and delivered at such strange angles, that one soon stops caring about the sad clown whence it issues. Potential sincerity is rendered suspect by a point of view that isn't so much a delicate balance between gentle irony and modern malaise as it is uncommitted middle class musings -- a hedged bet with no compelling stakes. He ho-hums about his status as a persona non grata amongst even his friends, yet revels in the sympathetic self-characterization and detached omniscience such exile affords. This may be heart-felt, but it never really transcends its own sodden chambers. Indeed, at the level of production, it sounds as though someone may have spilt a beer all over the master tapes. I would imagine his next album will be a lot tighter, brighter and . . . better.

Tony S gave it a1:
A lot of people are going to read good reviews of this guy and buy an album they will not like. It's pretty obnoxious when it isn't boring.

Andrew R gave it a9:
I bought it for the Stephin Merritt comparisons, and stuck around for Jens' own unique vision. The man's songs might be quaint, but they are their own, and they are superb. "Black Cab" is lovely and making its way to a mix tape near you.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
I love this album and have ever since I hear it for the first time a few weeks ago. I respect everyone's opinion about this album, however, just because this album does not fit the cookie cutter mold of music most of you seem to be exposed to, does not mean it is not inventive or intuitive songwriting. And if any of you want to call yourself avid indie music listeners, then hopefully by now you are accustom to an artist's choice to using random background noise clips.

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