I think I'm a little bit...

So this has been a long time coming. Reviewing new music. Who'd have thought? The only problem is that the album's not really new and I've been listening to it for months now but I kind of lost direction with my blog again, it's harder writing this than you imagine. I went through my stage of saying what I wanted to write about but never got around to it, then writing about music I talked about a year ago and then writing sporadically about nothing again. But with an imminent move, the last in a few giant steps I've taken recently, hopefully I'll settle back into my old rhythm and normal service will be resumed.

Lykke Li, born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson is a Swedish pop singer and despite her relatively young music career, has produced my favourite album of 2008 so far. After passing through my radar at the end of 2007 thanks to her incredible Little Bit EP, Lykke Li hit the studio again with Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn and John fame) to record her debut album Youth Novels. Though the album was released in Sweden on January 30th, it took until June for the album to see a release elsewhere, reaching #12 in the UK charts thanks to her relentless touring and blogger promotion.

Lykke Li can most easily be described as sugar-coated indie pop. Li's voice is calm and soulful and rarely ventures from her comfortable intimate nature. The album keeps to this theme with sparse electronic instrumentation soaked in reverb and delay but it is this atmosphere that suits Li's voice and song topics so well that it is rarely obvious how similar the songs are. Instead you are taken through poetic descriptions of personal strength and love with constant connection to both her audience and the target of her songs. The album does gather pace in songs such as Breaking It Up, Dance Dance Dance and I'm Good I'm Gone but it does so in the Lykke Li way - calm, unnoticeably and delicately.

As is normally the way, my first and favourite Lykke Li track is the aforementioned Little Bit. With a range of electronic percussion, smooth vocal lines and the bare minimum in instrumentation, it is in this forum that Li's lyrics are most powerful and most personal. The song breaches the necessity to tell someone how you feel but also the fear that these feelings will not be reciprocated and the struggle to make sure that you come across strong and independent whilst your heart slowly melts. The song also approaches the effects of past relationships and the continuing personality traits that affect every little decision in a new ones. Its hard to pick lyrics that best demonstrate this song as they're all perfect but these are some of my favourites

"Hands down, I'm too proud for love

But with eyes shut, it's you I'm thinking of,

Cause how we move from A to B it can't be up to me
Cause I don't know.

Eye to eye, thigh to thigh

I let go"

Lykke Li herself describes the song as "tragic" in that it is a true story that still affects her. However, the album is anything but dreary as "every song is a chapter in my life - I'm young (22). I don't have the most intense parts of my life because I've not been through Rehab and divorce and blah blah blah; it's about my teenage years." This refreshing approach to lyric writing ensures the album does not lose the intimate nature in which Lykke Li performs through alienating audience members that cant relate.

Having recently witnessed Lykke Li perform on a stage in the woods at Latitude, it is clear that the relaxed album is not the only string to her bow. Within a live arena, Lykke Li performs with energy and finesse and more importantly a proper backing band, adding a new dimension to songs that seemed clear and settled in their direction. "Live, I just want to run over everybody". Indeed.

I would say listen to Lykke Li on the playlist on the left but as last fm updates its service it seems that its become increasingly unreliable so my charts and playlist are almost redundant, I'll keep trying and see what happens. In the meantime, the video for Little Bit is below.

And by a small miracle, you're available to download Dance Dance Dance for free from her lastfm website here: http://www.last.fm/music/Lykke+Li/_/Dance+Dance+Dance

Latitude photo courtesy of: http://www.hockwold.info/nigesphotobox/Latitude2008/index.htm