After the release of his 2012 album,
I Know What Love Isn't,
Jens Lekman went out on tour and quickly realized that his fans hadn't really warmed up to the sad and subdued nature of the new songs. This realization sent
Lekman into a bit of a tailspin that led to him questioning the nature of his songs and the character of "Jens" that he had created. He kept working and almost finished an album in 2014, but set it aside when it became clear that it wasn't quite right. Then in 2015 he launched two projects: Postcards, which consisted of
Lekman writing and releasing a new song every week; and Ghostwriting, where he would put stories sent to him into lyrics and write music to go with them. The work that went into these undertakings inspired
Lekman to rededicate himself to making another album. He teamed up with producer Ewan Pearson, whom he had met while doing guest vocals on a
Tracey Thorn album, and started work on a new album.
Life Will See You Now swings back from the subtle, more intimate nature of
I Know What Love Isn't in favor of a bright and sunny-sounding album that's full of happy samples, disco beats, and cheerful melodies. As for the songs themselves,
Lekman has taken a big step away from writing about "himself," and the record is a series of vignettes about other people or conversations he's had with people about life, with all the humor and insight, odd observations, and catchy choruses his songs have always had. ~ Tim Sendra