An Argument With Myself - Picture Disc

Description

In Jens Lekman's songbook, movement is both an escape and a threat of descent into madness. The EP *An Argument With Myself* explores different types of displacement, from major personal transitions to social changes, and even simple journeys guided by a map. Each song acts as a way to navigate between agitation and stability. The opening and title track recounts an inner struggle as Lekman returns home to Melbourne, Australia, embodying his archetypal introspective narrator. "Waiting For Kirsten," seemingly a futile quest to find Kirsten Dunst in Gothenburg, turns out to be a reflection on the complex relationship with one's hometown: the comfort and disappointment of transformed places, and the permanence of those that never change. Conversely, "New Directions" offers a slightly manic sound map, a compass of directions to anywhere but here and any time but now. Witty and precise in its geolocation, each track follows a movement, a flow that oscillates between perdition and maintaining mental balance. Musically, the EP begins with more fragmented textures, blending brass, flutes, strings, and arpeggiated guitars, illustrating a Jens constantly in transition. Towards the end, the arrangements loosen up, opening to reggae accents and an almost mechanical sweetness, like a music box slowing its pace. For a moment, the movement suspends its course... at least for now.