Swedish rapper Jonatan Aron Leandoer Håstad, popularly known as “Yung Lean,” has been a very influential figure in the early era of cloud rap. He rose to fame after his first single “lavender”, and his 2013 song “Ginseng strip 2002” gained popularity and started his career. His last solo album was released in 2022 titled “stardust” which is one of my favorite projects of his.
His new album “Jonatan” is different from all of his other works which caught me off guard at first. The album starts with a dark orchestral intro. The next track “Might Not B” has a heavy synth beat which matches a lot of Yung Lean’s past albums and singles which I quite enjoy. One of my favorite and distinct features of Yung Lean’s work is the mystical heavy beats that he uses. I enjoy the chord progression throughout the whole song. On first listen this song was a skip for me but after I’ve listened to it thoroughly a few times it is up on my top 5 track list.
It fades perfectly into the next track “ Forever Yung”: this upbeat song again took me a few listens to get into it. Again a very catchy song to start off the album with. I find this track quite different from a lot of his previous projects showing that this was a very experimental song for him. It reminds me of some songs on his side project “Jonatan Leandoer96.”
Next up is my second favorite track from this album “Horses.” It has catchy lines that sit on top of a dark guitar chord progression. When I listen to the lyrics of this track I find a lot of emotions, the main emotion being sadness. I enjoy the line “wild horses keep pulling me away from you.” I’m curious as to what the story behind this song is. Is it written about someone specific?
My favorite track follows, “paranoid paparazzi” the beat is laid back and is easy to bump your head to. The lyrics repeat through each verse which I quite enjoy because I find the lyrics very beautiful and meaningful. Based on my first listen of the album this song was immediately my favorite, maybe because it’s similar to some of his other work.
The next track “babyface maniacs” has very nice backing vocals. This track isn’t my favorite, I do definitely enjoy it but I could see myself skipping this song from time to time when listening to the album. “I’m your dirt, i’m your love” starts with an orchestral beat, electronic drums later get introduced. This song is again quite catchy revealing a very positive pattern in this album. I think that this album will begin to gain popularity throughout social media with the takeoff of this album.
I’ve tried to get used to “Teenage symphonies 4 god (god will only)” but it just isn’t for me. I think that the beat is a little bland for Yung Lean but I do enjoy the lyrics quite a bit. “Changes” has a similar presence to me as the previous track which wasn’t my favorite. Once the beat drops though, I do start to enjoy it more. I think that I will have to listen to this track a few more times to make my full decision on it.
“My Life” is a very calm song which I think is a great addition to this album, adding a bit of diversity to the album’s sound. The next track “swan song” is very enjoyable, and reminds me again of some of the work on “jonatan Leandoer96’s” discography. I wasn’t expecting a beat drop containing trumpets on this album but it is truly full of surprises.
“Terminator symphony” has a funky plucking chord progression which I quite enjoy. I think that the ending of this song truly adds another level of beauty to this album. And this song in itself is very beautiful, from the lyrics to the choir in the background. The last track “lessons from above” is a farewell to another beautiful project by Yung Lean. I think that this song being the last on the album allows the listener to think about what they just listened to and the emotions that they experienced through the listening.
Overall I wasn’t the biggest fan of this album on first listen but now that I’ve given it a change and decided to do a review on it, I do truly love it and I believe that Yung Lean put a great amount of effort and meaning into the whole album, as he does with all of his other work. I recommend you to give this album another chance even if you didn’t enjoy it at first listen.
