Weekly Release Spotlight: Lykke Li

Posted on 8/25/2008

Lykke Li

Youth Novels

[LL]

Another Swede, another perfect pop record for the 00s. What is in the water over there? Surely a country whose greatest exports before the turn of the century were ABBA and Ace of Base could not have begotten Jens Lekman, Shout Out Louds, The Concretes, I'm From Barcelona, El Perro Del Mar, and of course let us not forget that staple of primetime TV soundtracks, Peter Bjorn and John. Bjorn Yttling, one-third of that very superstar act and a performer/songwriter on Youth Novels, seems intent on diverting our attention from understanding this seamless pattern of Swedish musical genius to appreciating the fact that we have another artist to add to the list: Lykke Li.

It's a sneaky but effective tactic, because the moment the curiously quiet keyboard flutters build into a release introducing the 22-year-old's sorrowful yet life-affirming coo, there is nothing to be thought of but the music. The arrangements that Yttling and his cast of dozens construct match her vocal softness immaculately, adding dense layers of electronic and organic orchestration without ever becoming congested, adding just the right amount of perfume to an already stunning natural scent. The instruments, whether it be a whirring theremin ("Complaint Department") or an attention-seeking cowbell ("Tonight"), are always left to breathe peacefully between each other and Li's precise and subtle vocalizing, which is often layered to create an additionally dizzying sense of headphone satisfaction.

The words, though simple and sparse, have just as much of a punch as her winsome-meets-seductive delivery. They range from the risque dedication of her hit single "Little Bit" ("And for you I keep my legs apart") to an equally provocative pronouncement, this time replacing the themes of love and lust with sadness as if they're only a step away from each other, in "Let it Fall" ("I like wet, like my make up in a mess"). Her tense enunciations combined with a laissez-faire attitude give the lyrics a flip but incredibly honest coating, so that both a song with foot stomps as the only percussion ("Hanging High") and one that screams with synthesizers ("Breaking it Up") yearn to be heard, and still nimbly wobble the heart with ease, putting Sweden on top yet again.

Written by Chris Polley, Radio K volunteer and host of Now Like Photographs.