I Know What Love Isn't
by Jens Lekman
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
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  1. AllMusic
    Sep 4, 2012
    90
    I Know What Love Isn't is Lekman at his finest, transmitting real emotion and humor in songs that are impossible to stop humming for days.
  2. Pitchfork
    Sep 7, 2012
    77
    Even when he focuses his unflagging talents within fixed bounds, Lekman's still one of the most distinct and observant writers in indie rock today.
  3. Uncut
    Sep 14, 2012
    70
    Snatches of flute, sax, and female vocal harmony vocals add sympathetic colour to these sad yet inquisitive songs. [Oct 2012, p.83]
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  5. PopMatters
    Oct 12, 2012
    80
    I Know What Love Isn't is Lekman gracefully coming to terms with the breakup, and his lyrical and musical variations on this fixation keep the album compelling.
  6. Mojo
    Sep 19, 2012
    60
    [Lekman] delivers a buoyant, frankly heart-wrenching, autobiographical album. [Oct 2012, p.86]
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  7. Q Magazine
    Sep 6, 2012
    60
    Though twee-o-phobes may baulk at the confessional tone, wit and self-deprecation win the day. [Oct 2012, p.105]
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  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 4, 2012
    70
    It's a tougher listen than usual, but it's still laden with lashings of classic Lekman pop hooks and a vocal that's sweeter than a Swedish cinnamon bun.
  9. musicOMH.com
    Sep 10, 2012
    70
    Jens sticks to what he knows, combining his spry guitar playing and razor sharp pop sensibility.
  10. Under The Radar
    Aug 31, 2012
    60
    He still packs dense short stories into each track, but without the humor the drama sometimes falls flat.
  11. The Guardian
    Aug 31, 2012
    60
    On this third album nothing quite matches the second track, Erica America, for subtlety, its delicately anguished lyric set to a lush, Richard Carpenter-style melody.
  12. Exclaim
    Aug 31, 2012
    80
    By taking his time and falling in and out of love he ended up with I Know What Love Isn't, an album worth waiting another five years for.
  13. Drowned In Sound
    Sep 4, 2012
    80
    I Know What Love Isn't is a classy break-up record rather than just a classic one.
  14. The A.V. Club
    Sep 4, 2012
    75
    He's produced a fine return to the public eye, one that doesn't enchant quite like his early material but resonates much deeper.
  15. Paste Magazine
    Sep 4, 2012
    82
    The record sounds crisp, expensive even, but it never sounds slick or soulless.
  16. Consequence
    Sep 7, 2012
    80
    I Know What Love Isn't is an endearing and guileful extrication of the learning process.
  17. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Oct 16, 2012
    50
    At the end of the album, no stone on the topic of love and disillusionment feels unturned. Such is the strange comfort of blanket statements, but Lekman's fans may still feel the pea-like irritant of stories lanky and untold.
  18. No Ripcord
    Oct 18, 2012
    80
    While Lekman certainly knows how to use a sample, it is his songwriting talent, his storytelling ability, and above all his remarkable emotional honesty that make I Know What Love Isn't the finest achievement of his career.
  19. Sputnikmusic
    Sep 10, 2012
    80
    The album is the result of its own thought process, and ultimately becomes the most revealing thing Lekman has written, even if it is his most succinct record.
  20. Magnet
    Oct 4, 2012
    90
    This minor genius from Gothenburg hurdles over [the heartbreak record] as effortlessly and charmingly as his livelier material. [No.91 p.58]
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  21. The Quietus
    Sep 7, 2012
    70
    I Know What Love Isn't turns out to be a graceful break-up album, one that eschews ugliness and rage.
  22. BBC Music
    Sep 4, 2012
    70
    Lekman has always had a neat turn of phrase, whether barbed, droll or plainly silly. Again, there's [sic] plenty of them here.
  23. American Songwriter
    Aug 31, 2012
    80
    The album in a nutshell: a broken heart carried with poise, good humor and endless charm.
  24. Filter
    Sep 6, 2012
    78
    I Know What Love Isn't is a master class in, if not getting over it, then getting on with it.
  25. cokemachineglow
    Dec 21, 2012
    80
    Maybe it lacks the frenetic energy of Night Falls Over Kortedala, but I Know What Love Isn't is a great record in its own right, a showcase of Lekman's prodigious storytelling gifts that also makes an effort to connect those stories, and that music, into an emotionally resonant whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
  26. Beats Per Minute
    Sep 10, 2012
    89
    I Know What Love Isn't is more than a great pop album – it's the most singularly rewarding statement from one of the more uniquely gifted songwriting voices of the past decade.
  27. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Sep 4, 2012
    60
    A chastened affair: instrumentally pared-back, vocally wan and full of unremarkable Brill-Building-meets-Belle-and-Sebastian ditties.
  28. CMJ
    Sep 7, 2012
    70
    Through it all, Lekman's wit remains intact.
  29. The Fly (UK)
    Aug 31, 2012
    80
    As the title makes pretty clear, this is a break up record, weeping with Magnetic Fieldsy candid cynicism about love.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Butsku
    Sep 10, 2012
    10
  2. sleepysarah
    Sep 7, 2012
    9
    Each album of Jens' has taken me some time to fall in love with, but all this took was one thorough listen through. That's the thing aboutEach album of Jens' has taken me some time to fall in love with, but all this took was one thorough listen through. That's the thing about Jens, he's a grower - not a show-er.… Full Review »
  3. Borderline1975
    Sep 4, 2012
    9
    Is funny but everytime i approach a new Jens Lekman album for the first hour i feel a bit disappointed...but then something start sneakingIs funny but everytime i approach a new Jens Lekman album for the first hour i feel a bit disappointed...but then something start sneaking inside my mind and memories and again i find his poetic so sophisticately naive that i start waiting for the next one.… Full Review »
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