I’ve been so into the apartment recently, I’ve been slacking off on keeping up with my music. I was going to put this “Weekly Album” series on a little hiatus, or until I found some really good music. I still think I’m planning on doing this; so it’ll be more “Great Albums” and less “Weekly.”
Well, just this morning, my great friend, Morgan, pointed me in the direction of Lykke Li and I have fallen head over heals for her in the past few hours I’ve been listening and researching. Beautiful words, beautiful voice and a beautiful face. …If nothing else her dancing, much like MIA, makes me happy through and through!
With so many surprises in the arrangements, you might overlook what a strength Li herself is, how well she unifies Youth Novels’ scattershot imagination. It’s easy to dismiss her style as overly cutesy– the babytalk chorus on first single “Little Bit”, for instance– and her fragility can seem annoyingly affected. But don’t be fooled– she’s in total command of the songs, and her breathy fuzziness fits the wireframe aesthetic better than a fuller voice would. There are also hints that Li would be as happy with a richer sound– on the beautiful “My” she’s rolled and washed by cymbal, string, and echo and lets them envelop her without erasing her.
Quoted from Pitchfork
And this is my new favorite song, “Little Bit”: