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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Swedish Indie Pop, 17 May 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Swedish indie pop artist Lykke Li Zachrisson , better known to us as just plain old Lykke Li, has now recorded a full length album as a follow up to her debut three track EP, Little Bit, which was released last year. Like the earlier release this is on her own LL label and was produced by Bjorn Yttling (of Peter, Bjorn & John) who also co-wrote these tracks with her. This album, Youth Novels, was recorded in New York.
Some people may also remember Lykke Li from the songs she made for her MySpace profile a few years ago; ethereal, but sensual, vocals against a slightly bass heavy sound, again courtesy of Bjorn. These songs proved very popular in Sweden and also around the world by those who were lucky enough to discover them.
This current set has 14 tracks and runs for a little over 50 minutes, it flows well as an album and Bjorn's production work holds the whole thing together well. There are echoes of Goldfrapp here and there, and a hint of Kate Nash in some of Lykke's vocals, but otherwise the album has it's own distinctive and varied feel. A couple of tracks are strong enough to be successful singles, and a slightly edited version of "Tonight" could well be a big summer hit - great hook - if it gets the exposure.
For me, however, Lykke's voice, although very good, isn't great and by the end of the album started to sound slightly unexciting. It's interesting enough for a few tracks, and distinctive enough to be easily recognisable on the radio, useful for the singles market. It can sometimes be difficult for European acts to get exposure to the UK market, and how much promotion this album gets could determine it's success or failure here. I'm sure this album will do very well in her native Sweden however, and will prove to be very popular with her international fan base who I'm sure have been eagerly awaiting this release for months.
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9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An experimental album full of promise., 30 May 2008
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This album is full of vibrant tracks which can easily be listened to and appreciated for the artistic beauty they convey. The haunting voice blends well with the muted tones of harpsichords, flutes, and theremins. I would not normally purchase such an album but I am pleasantly surprised by how pleasant this was to listen to.
I will certainly be awaiting the next album from the quite obviously talented Lykke Li.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love is a symphony, 19 Aug 2008
For the record, Lykke Li has one of the most punnish stage names in all of the pop world.
Fortunately the obvious jokes are no reflection on the talents of this fledgling Swedish singer (real name: Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson), her high soft voice, and her unique brand of pop music. And her full-length debut "Youth Novels" is an exquisite little confection -- wistful, robustly elfin songs set to sweetly wintry electro-folkpop.
It opens with a gentle stream of piano and plaintive strings, as Lykke Li quietly speaks. "Follow these instructions/Do exactly as I do... Love is the harmony/Desire is the key/Love is a symphony/Now play it with me..."
Things pick up with the more "Dance Dance Dance," an adorable little song about expressing your feelings via dancing, and the hard-edged/twinkly piano of "I'm Good I'm Gone" ("Well, say you're not 'cause when I'm gone/You'll be callin' but I won't be at the phone!"). But things start relaxing with the jazzier pop melody of "Let It Fall."
From there, Lykke Li explores some more mellow electro-folkpop, with haunting folk songs tinged with synth, sweetly romantic (and slightly sexy) guitar pop, exquisitely wistful ballads, dark electropop, and a weird experimental number where she spends a long time muttering "can't get that trumpet outta my head!" The album ends on a rather dark note with the stomping ballad "Window Blues ("Don't go all soft on me/don't come across for me/don't lose your selfish ways over me...."
If I had to compare Lykke Li to somebody, I'd say she sounds like Stina Nordenstam, or a more childlike, less innocent El Perro Del Mar. But those are just stylistic similarities, because her pretty pop has a very distinct sound even in her first album. And "Youth Novels" has a feeling of bittersweet, pretty intimacy -- it's sitting with a friend whose heart has just started to heal, and watching the snowflakes flutter down outside the window.
And her music is also very pretty -- we've got a bit of jazz, a bit of indie pop, and a veil of pale, soft electronica laid over it all like a blanket. She even does some experimentation in such songs as "Dance Dance Dance," which is the most mellow, downtempo dance song I've ever heard -- and most of it is just drums and a tapped bell.
The rest of the time, you can hear a delicate web of solid instrumentation -- half-smothered saxophone, a folky acoustic guitar, a xylophone, gentle tinkly piano melodies, kettle drums, and stretches of gentle plaintive strings. Oh yes, and some moments of buzzy dark synthpop, like in the gloriously dark "Complaint Department," and a swirling Spanish guitar that winds through one song.
And then there's the vocals. This girl has a voice of spun glass and sunlit icicles, and regardless of what she sings she sounds incredibly sweet and fragile. Despite some awkward moments ("For you I keep my legs apart" -- what?), her lyrics are also quite sweet -- the absence of love is painful, while its presence brings you shyness, joy and defensiveness. Just look at the one about communicating love through dance.
If you just skimmed through "Youth Novel," you'd think that Lykke Li's debut album was just a stretch of electropop with some folk overtones. But it's something far prettier and more alluring.
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