His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan Richman and Belle & Sebastian, and he has been likened to Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields), David Byrne,[1] and Scott Walker.

[citation needed] Gradually, he adopted the pseudonym Rocky Dennis, a name he borrowed from the protagonist in the movie Mask.

[citation needed] The songs "Maple Leaves" and "Black Cab" were heavily played on Swedish national radio and the former garnered significant attention through file-sharing platforms.

The album attracted attention among the alternative music press in both Europe and the U.S.[9] The song "You Are the Light" was a successful radio hit, and a video received some rotation in the Nordic MTV and ZTV.

[12] Lekman's cover of Scout Niblett's "Your Beat Kicks Back Like Death" appeared on Secretly Canadian's SC100 compilation.

In 2008, he toured with an all-female back-up band (dressed mostly in white) that provided basic rock instrumentation as well as horns and backing vocals.

[17] On 19 March 2011, Lekman played a show in support of libraries during the widespread closures in the United Kingdom where he premiered a new song, "Every Little Hair Knows Your Name".

[23] In parallel, he led a musical experiment called Ghostwriting where he translates into songs stories submitted to him by the public.

[25] On 21 March 2022, Lekman's most popular and successful album, Night Falls Over Kortedala, was removed from all streaming services and made unavailable to purchase.

On 27 April 2022, Lekman announced the reissue of two of his albums that had previously been made unavailable: Oh You're So Silent Jens and Night Falls Over Kortedala.

Stephen Metcalf noted that Lekman differs from his influences, among them Morrissey and Stephin Merritt, by fashioning a coyness in his songs about sex – a demeanor that is euphemistic or "even aseptically unsexual" – although he similarly writes of passion and longing.