24-year-old Lykke Li has been a favorite singer-songwriter among indie, pop, and electronic listeners. She has released two albums: Youth Novels in 2008 and Wounded Rhymes in 2011. Both albums demonstrate the truly multi-faceted nature of the artist.
Her debut album, “Youth Novels,” though not very cohesive, presents both light-hearted and dark, depressed songs, seemingly representing a teenage girl’s diary. The album is a narrative of all the diverse situations a human would experience during a fantastical, yet tumultuous relationship. Her use of staccato in songs like “Little Bit” and “Let It Fall” is layered well with spoken-work in “Melodies & Desires” and throaty cries in “Time Flies.” Her constant use of a raspy, high-pitched whisper creates the feeling of a mystical fantasy. However, the songs don’t usually get away from archetypal pop songs, although she uses a diverse set of instruments including harps, trumpets, woodblocks, and hand-claps. Further, the poetic lyrics fail to move away from overdone topics of love and lust.
Her latest album, “Wounded Rhymes,” is much more cohesive and less adolescent. Li matured from an electro-pop singer to a soulful, less deliberate star. African-American influence is prevalent in the album: tribal drums, gospel-y multiplication of her voice, doo-wops, and throaty histrionics are pervasive throughout the album. She fuses primal drums and electronic beats together seamlessly in songs like “I Follow Rivers,” “Get Some,” and “Love Out of Lust.” Senior and Li fan Thea Zerbe added that “her albums, as a whole, make the most complete and powerful statement. Her 80s-esque synth-based pop is juxtaposed with dark, cathartic, moody pieces, which is surprisingly well done and well-integrated. Her contradiction is very intentional and therefore is able to take on a meaning of its own. It is important to listen to her album as one big piece, sort of like a story, in order to understand the complexities of her music.”
Senior Justin Moran saw Li live at First Avenue in November 2011 with Zerbe. He described the concert as “a very spiritual experience.” Visually, “her show truly embraced theater: great lighting, a dark moody stage, everyone wore black, and lots of unique instrumental usage. When she sings she really exists in her own world. She rarely connects with the audience, kind of just sings for herself. So it was like watching her dream, very special and spiritual. I felt cleansed and renewed at the end.”
As far as mainstream publicity, Li has been highly acclaimed for her visual aesthetic. Equally often, however, she has been bashed for creating an aesthetic for the sake of creating an aesthetic that attracts an audience, instead of adding to her music. Li received massive publicity after the film “Twilight” used her song “Possibility” in its soundtrack.