Lykke Li: Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li
Wounded Rhymes
Rating: Woof Daddy

Swedish indie pop princess Lykke Li's first album Youth Novels was a favorite of mine from 2008. Produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, the album highlighted Li's odd voice, setting it up against non-traditional instrumentation and song structures, yet sometimes the songs seemed to veer too close to twee territory. With Wounded Rhymes, Li, once again working with Björn, doesn't exactly reinvent herself as much as she beefs up. Her voice is stronger and meatier (though it can still be an acquired taste), and the songs, drawing from 60s girl groups, garage rock, and the wall of sound perfected by Phil Spector, are cavernous and heavy, every note dripping with decay and dirt. Drums are deep and pounding, guitars rich with reverb, and her voice settles so well into the mix, sometimes triple and quadruple tracked.

The songwriting on Wounded Rhymes is more complex and varied than it's predecessor. Li shows that she still can project fragility while also showing strength within herself. Whether she sings of a deep abiding love in "I Follow Rivers:"

"Be the ocean, where I unravel
Be my only, be the water where I'm wading
You're my river running high, run deep and run wild

I, I follow, I follow you, deep sea baby"



or how she needs to rely on a relationship to make her stronger in "Love Out of Lust"

"We will live longer than I will
We will be better than I was
We can cross rivers with our will
we can do better than I can"



she is always self aware and knows what she wants and needs. It culminates in the amazing first single "Get Some," taking girl power to the next level, with her chants of "I'm your prostitute, you're gonna get some," and a video featuring her as a jungle priestess:



There is a good mix of styles and tempos on Wounded Rhymes, giving the record a great flow. From the aforementioned pulsating beats of "Get Some" and "I Follow Rivers," there is the opening organ-driven track "Youth Knows No Pain,"



the echo ladened "Jerome:"



and heavy garage rock of "Rich Kid Blues:"



But where she is excels is the vulnerable ballads on the album. Her voice gut-wrenchingly sad on "Love Out Of Lust," forlorn and ghostly on "I Know Places," and gorgeously melancholy on the girl group homage "Sadness Is A Blessing," with her desperate pleas:

"I ranted, I pleaded, I beg him not to go
For sorrow, the only lover I've ever known
Every night I rant, I plead, I beg him not to go
Will sorrow be the only lover I can call my own?"

With Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li studiously avoids any hints of a sophomore slump. Instead of just giving us Youth Novels 2.0, she expands on and tightens her sound, showing us a range that was only hinted at before. This more confident Lykke Li is a force to be reckoned with and it definitely makes her an artist to watch closely.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.