The Cherry Trees Are Still In Blossom

Swedish songwriter Jens Lekman first rose up in indie circles in the early 2000s, standing out from the legions of run-of-the-mill bands or acoustic guitar wielding solo artists with songs built around an inventive use of samples and unashamedly tender sentiments. Lekmans demos were circulated widely, eventually leading to a string of minor releases, and ultimately a series of excellent full length albums that helped shepherd the always bubbling twee underground through the years when garage rock revivals and other decidedly less-than-gentle music trends ran rampant. 2005 compilation Oh Youre So Silent Jens served as something of an premature greatest hits collection for Lekman, gathering together tracks from early 7"s, EPs, and other ephemeral releases and including some of his best-loved and most definitive songs. The compilation had been scrubbed from the internet for years by the time Lekman re-recorded, expanded, and re-titled it as 2022s The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom, one of two releases he recreated with more than a decade of hindsight informing the new sounds. Instead of starting from scratch, TCTASiB is a mysterious blend of fresh revisions, almost completely unaltered original recordings, and previously unreleased material. Lekman uses audio diaries from a personal cassette archive as interludes between some songs, and new additions like the synth-dappled "Eureka" and the uptempo title track are added to the track listing. While the 2022 versions of some songs are indiscernible from the originals, (the bouncy Jonathan Richman-goes-doo wop of "A Sweet Summers Night on Hammer Hill" and the immediately recognizable Beat Happening sample of "Pocketful of Money" are still intact) some of Lekmans most popular tunes are completely retooled. ~ Fred Thomas