Premature Evaluation: Yung Lean Jonatan

It’s unlikely that Yung Lean will ever put out an album as good as Starz, but that's fine. The fourth studio LP by the Swedish rapper and Drain Gang associate arrived at the unfortunate time of May 2020, and it was far more atmospheric and artistic than what had come before it. The blurry title track even featured indie outcast Ariel Pink, whose dreamy influence can be heard all over the enveloping record. 2022’s Stardust was a skittish, glamorous follow-up, a bit all over the place but gripping and ambitious throughout. His newest, Jonatan, is another unpredictable, worthwhile adventure.

Starz is a standout in his discography; it perfected the SoundCloud rap he'd been doing for years, the 16 tracks making up a cohesive, immersive masterpiece. But the 28-year-old likes to experiment. He plays around with indie rock for his jonatan leandoer96 project; last year, he joined longtime collaborator Bladee for a bunch of Cold Visions highlights, and the pair even made a joint rock-leaning record called Psykos. He’s doing whatever he wants, and it seems that the polished, subtle essence of Starz was a one-time thing. There are traces of its beauty on Jonatan, like on the second track, “Might Not B,” a great weirdo anthem that plays with the refrain of “Lay All Your Love On Me” and flirts with fuckboy attitudes: "It might not be such a bad idea/ If I never called you/ If I never called you again." His exaggerated drawls are cocooned in icy blares of distorted bass. “I like when the world moves in slow motion/ I’m awake when everyone’s asleep,” he admits, a sentiment that's often audible in the dark, slow energy of his music.

Before Starz, Lean was content with letting his mumble-raps serve as the centerpiece of his songs; on Starz, he let the sound take the front seat. Foggy synths and trap beats surrounded his airy, detached voice in hypnotic fashion, offering the feeling of being so drunk at a club that the music sounds like a distant, pulsing echo. But that’s not necessarily what people love Lean for. Lean’s fans worship his emo lyricism and idiosyncratic vocal delivery, like on his 2017 hit “Agony.” On Jonatan, that side of Lean comes through on “Paranoid Paparazzi” and “My Life,” especially the latter, which has Lean’s vulnerable voice over sparse, grungy guitar. The rock sound that took the wheel on Psykos also gives motion to the cinematic "Horses." "I’m Your Dirt, I’m Your Love" has the evocative, special texture of a coming-of-age movie: “I’m the ash in your lungs/ So let’s burn down the sun,” he sings over riveting orchestral parts, which are splattered all over Jonatan.

The lead single "Forever Yung" had the peppy energy of Stardust, while its follow-up "Babyface Maniacs" possessed the edgy apathy of his earlier stuff. But Lean saved the truly surprising stuff for the full album. Jonatan was executed produced by Frank Ocean collaborator Rami Dawod, but Oneohtrix Point Never has credits on “Changes,” “Paranoid Paparazzi,” and “Terminator Symphony.” “Changes” is a wonderfully echoey tune with an invigorating, industrial-inflected buildup with surreal backing vocals and a shrieking electric guitar, all grounded by a pulsating rhythm and a beautifully vapid refrain about getting money (I’m not being sarcastic; I think the vapidness works). OPN’s presence on the brief “Terminator Symphony” is also noticeable in celestial synths and an off-kilter ambiance that spirals around Lean’s nonstop flow. Though it’s less than two minutes, it feels inconceivably expansive.

Meanwhile, the melancholy “Swan Song” has Beck on piano while Lean sings of heartbreak, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. That ballad abruptly catapults into a clamorous whirlwind and, just when you least expect it, a trumpet comes in, reminiscent of — dare I say — Neutral Milk Hotel (I could see Lean loving In The Aeroplane Over The Sea). It's hymn-like, as is the anguished "Teenage Symphonies 4 God (God Will Only)," on which he grapples with self-destruction: "After the party and the celebration/ I'm alone with the desperation/ I'm in love with the isolation/ It's escalating," he drones over a hazy backdrop — a striking moment of Lean doing what he does best.

You can rarely tell where a song is headed, but the record ends on a tame note with the fluttering "Lessons From Above." Jonatan is another great release from an artist who's more of an unstoppable force than he is a human. While incorporating the sounds from his past that he's mastered, he's also taking steps into new territories — a risk that paid off. It's early to be saying this, but I'm already excited to see where he'll be going next.

Jonatan is out now via World Affairs.