Lykke Li - Youth Novels
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CD Details
Artist: Lykke LiBrand: Baker
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-08-19
Model: 00825646946457
Music Label: ATLANTIC / ADA
Soundtracks:
- Melodies & Desires
- Dance, Dance, Dance
- I'm Good, I'm Gone
- Let It Fall
- My Love
- Tonight
- Little Bit
- Hanging High
- This Trumpet in My Head
- Complaint Department
- Breaking It Up
- Everybody But Me
- Time Flies
- Window Blues
Music reviews of Youth Novels
Music Review: The String around the Feather unwinds
Rating: 4 Stars
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson may have won over an entire new audience with "Wounded Rhymes" (2011) but its on this sparkling confection from 2008 that the seeds were initially sown. "Youth Novels" marks the debut of young Lykke Li, but it is anything but unassured. In fact, researchers of debut outings might compare this very favorably with "Tidal" by Fiona Apple way back in 1996. Aesthetically, it remains without peer even in the years since its' release, even though fellow Swede Frida Hyvonens' "Silence is Wild" comes pretty close (but to be fair, that was Hyvonen's third outing on disc). For mainstream music listeners, there isn't much here that would grab them upon first listen (although you might see contrary statements in other descriptions of this album), which explains Lykke's inexplicable lack of popularity in many market pockets that would normally be open to an indie release getting wider acclaim (Bon Iver's "For Emma Forever Ago" and Vampire Weekends' mammoth gains in visibility being prime example).
Undeniably, the contents herein are splendid. Lykke draws upon two very varied genres of music - shoegaze & electropop, to create what is essentially a tribute to the amalgamation of said genres. Within these, there are subgenres of folk, Britpop, Motown, with a few jazz influences thrown in for good effect. Thankfully, all of these influences aren't quite present on one track at the same time, giving the album a sense of space to breathe and carve out different identities within the length of an hour. Lykke isn't a fantastic vocalist, per se, and I would definitely put her in the same category as Stina Nordenstam or even Julianna Barwick in some respects, but she does try, on some of the slower numbers here, to evoke a Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star vibe that isn't altogether out of place.
There are many who would instantly compare "Youth Novels" to another fellow Scandinavian's magnum opus entitled "Body Talk". To compare Lykke to Robyn is a disservice because Robyn wears her pop sensibilities shamelessly on her sleeve (in her case, a good thing), while Li's intentions are sometimes dressed up in minimalist architecture while at the same time striving for things that are essential to a robust pop song, most notably a chorus that sticks and guarantees replay value. On this alone, the disc scores highly, as Li is adept at crafting a hook perhaps better than most young composers out there (except for Robyn, of course). Prime examples include "I'm Good, I'm Gone", which itself has gone on to spawn various remix versions that sadly aren't a patch on the original, and the stunning "My Love" that is absolutely brimming over with Justin Vernon sensibilities.
While the last few years have thrown up bonafide independent artists and given us masterpieces of the genre (most notably "Grey Ocreans" by Cocorosie, and "Have one on me" by the indisputably brilliant Joanna Newsom), its interesting to see Lykke take her place amongst such esteemed company. "Youth Novels" has a lot going for it, although its opening spoken word track could strike new audiences as pretentious and misleading (it does not set the tone of the album in any useful sense). It isn't quite a classic, but instead serves as a more than suitable introduction to a fine new musician. Upon first release, many new listeners were put off by the seemingly pop-tinged debut single & video, but again, these are misconceptions as the record is more an underground minimalist piece with abstract overtones - certainly not something a regular audience would either comprehend or appreciate.
In 2011, Lykke would go on to broaden her palette with "Wounded Rhymes", easily a greater, more accomplished work that "Youth Novels", but to see how it all began and to discover some music that you wouldn't probably immediately think of as `essential', this is a vital purchase. Like Newsom and Devendra Banhart, Lykke Li is an artist whose work reveals itself upon multiple listenings, and if growing with a full-length album counts as one of your imperative life experiences, this is exactly the sort of album you should be listening to. Also check out "Penelope" by Sarah Kirkland Snider, "The Magic Place" by Julianna Barwick; and "Ys" by Joanna Newsom, if you liked this. I suspect you'll find that all of them are essential to your growing music collection.
Four Stars.
Description of Youth Novels
Sweden's Lykke Li presents one of the most perfect pop albums you'll hear all year. Just as her music sometimes seems to have arrived from another planet, she's not quite like anyone you've met before.Alternative Rock CDs
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