For anyone not familiar with her work, Stockholm-born Lykke Li is probably best classified as a pop singer, although only in the same way that Kate Bush or Prince are best classified as pop singers.
Her debut album, '
Youth Novels', produced mainly by Bjorn from Peter, Bjorn and John, is a damn fine listen, somehow positively
rammed with catchy hooks while still sounding strange and mysterious. Live, she's a little less ethereal and more just straight-up funky, with a percussion-heavy, brutally minimal sound that often forgoes bass altogether
a la prime period Prince. It would be ridiculously sexy even if she wasn't a 22 year old Swedish lass.
Interestingly, she's a
much braver and ballsier singer live than on record, equally at home with dark folk-tinged epics and quirky dance-pop numbers. In particular, first single 'Little Bit', already a favourite of mine on record, proves emotionally devastating in the live arena. Great...
