Jens Lekman releases his new album Songs For Other People’s Weddings, on September 12th via Secretly Canadian (Faye Webster, Porridge Radio). The LP is part of a very collaborative project with author David Levithan (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) that also includes a novel of the same name, due out next August 5th via ABRAMS. Ahead of the The album’s arrival, lekman has shared lead-single “Candy From A Stranger.”

Songs For Other People’s Weddings was actually inspired by the Swedish artist’s own surprising side career as a wedding singer, which came about by chance, after fans took his song “If You Ever Need a Stranger (To Sing at Your Wedding)” literally and invited him to perform at their nuptials. The “Candy From A Stranger” video is a charming window into this part of Lekman’s life, collaging together clips from various weddings he has performed at.

While inspired by his real life, Songs For Other People’s Weddings is a work of fiction about J, an unlucky-in-love musician who moonlights as a wedding singer. J gathers with couples before their big day to learn more about the intimate, strange things that brought them together, in order to write an original song to perform for them at their wedding. But despite J’s penchant for finding the perfect words for others, he can’t seem to do the same for his own love with his girlfriend, V. Narratively, both the book and the album follow J and V’s relationship, and the album changes musically as the couple navigates the ups and downs of love–with each new wedding providing its own sonic background. An orchestral, romantic collection, it traverses through pastoral strings, dreamy pop, soft jazzy saxophone, and sad house beats. “If Jens and I have done our jobs, the novel and the album tell both sides of J and V’s story–and the tension comes from how these sides fit together,” Levithan says.

Lekman adds: “While this story is very much about a relationship and how it’s reflected through the relationships and weddings of others, most of all I think it’s a love story about music and its value in a time when it’s been devalued and turned into content by tech companies. Its ability to soothe and connect and its role in the transitional moments of our lives such as weddings. It’s a love song to love songs.”

Pre-order Songs For Other People’s Weddings HERE