courtesy of Kristin Lidell

Forget IKEA, Ace of Base and gummy fish candy. The latest and greatest import from the far-off country of Sweden is Jens Lekman, a quirky folk-pop musician who has just released his second full-length album to date, titled "Night Falls Over Kortedala."

Lekman has the deep and soothing voice of Morrissey, the retro-pop beats of Burt Bacharach, but lyrics all his own. He gained fame in 2003 at home in Sweden, the land of ABBA and meatballs, after years of recording from home and personally releasing his material. For now, he lingers on the fringes of the mainstream music scene here in the States.

The 12-song "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is one peculiar melodic journey. Lekman takes listeners from one musical era to another and from genre to genre. He touches upon both 60s doo-wop and 70s disco; he employs pop, folk and something along the lines of tropical-techno. This almost schizophrenic amalgamation of musical styles threatens to turn listeners off because of Lekman's refusal to stick to one genre, but his musical versatility is nevertheless impressive.

Lekman is a storyteller, too, sharing entertaining and often downright silly narratives from his own life on the album.

"This is probably the silliest song I've ever written," Lekman said of his nostalgia-infused "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo," while performing it live at Easy Street Records on Nov. 6. "Friday Night" is the last song on "Night Falls Over Kortedala."

"A Postcard to Nina" tells the story of how his lesbian pen-pal tricked him into coming to Berlin in order to pose as her boyfriend for her family dinner. Lekman croons, "Nina I can be your boyfriend / so you can stay with your girlfriend / your father is mailing me all the time / he says he just wants to say hi / I send back 'out of office, auto-replies.'"

Listeners can hear the influence of American pop music on Lekman through "Shirin," which sounds like it could've been written and recorded in the 60s. Listeners won't be able to help but bounce up and down to its cheeriness.

"Kanske Ar Jag Kar i Dig," with a Swedish title but English lyrics, is a fun song about first love and how awkward and uncomfortable it can be to show feelings for another person. Lekman's cheeky, witty lyrics will make listeners fall in love with the shy and sweet musician-of-all-trades.

Arguably the best song on "Night Falls Over Kortedala" is "The Opposite of Hallelujah." The use of a clap-track and a xylophone give it a joyful vibe, and Lekman's lucid voice and Swedish accent are the cherries on top of this musical ice cream sundae.

Lekman may be phobic of commitment when it comes to which musical genre he wants to lay claim to, but his diverse, sardonic and easy-to-sing-along-with tunes make "Night Falls Over Kortedala" worthy of attention.