As published on the Princeton Record Exchange Blog:
Fifty years after the “British Invasion,” America is being bombarded from foreign invaders once again. This time, they’re coming by the boatful out of Scandinavia. I’m From Barcelona (but actually from Sweden), Sigur Rós, múm, Mugison, and of course Björk – which all run the genre gamut – have all come out of the collective lands of the midnight sun to grace the global indie scene with their experimental electronic sounds, unique vocal abilities, and vast instrumentation.
Li was born in Sweden and spent the majority of her life hopping from country to country, until landing in New York to record her debut album when she was only 19 years old. Now she’s 22, and Youth Novels, an album that would have seemed far too mature for a teenager, is flying inexplicably below the radar. Li has the soulful and expressive voice of a pre-crack Amy Winehouse and the sexy lyrics of Feist, both of which are perfectly exemplified on “Let it Fall,” and the two make for a very entertaining combination. Björn Yttling’s (of the Swedish indie group Peter Björn and John) impeccable hip-hoppy production perfectly match her raspy soprano. Usually I find spoken-word tracks like the album’s opener “Melodies & Desires” kitschy and embarrassing – especially when it contains such difficultly delivered lines as “You'll be the rhythm and I'll be the beat/You'll be the rhythm and I'll be the beat /Then I'll be the rhythm and you'll be the beat /And love, the shoreline, where you and I meet” – but Li uses her faux-Brit-plus-Swedish accent in her favor and makes the song work surprisingly well.
As many of my peers, I have an inexplicable soft spot for Scandinavian indie music. On paper, a lot of it can be written off as a collection of strange noises and novelty for novelty’s sake (see Sigur Rós), but in practice it gets me every time. Lykke Li fits this formula to a tee. Despite everyone’s assertions of its genius, I couldn’t get into Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, but Li has captivated me with a lighter version of a familiar sound. The hip-hop, R&B, and soul influence are all visible, but it is her lightened, innocent vocals that really make it worth listening to. She delivers each line, whether heartwarming or heartwrenching, with equal sincerity and maturity, two qualities that will no doubt grow as Li leaves her musical adolescence behind.
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