The debut album from young Swede Lykke Li has been described as “ethereal disco for the brokenhearted” and that is really a quite befitting description. Even though you expect she will break and crumble under the weight of her hardships all you really wanna do is boogie. Sympathy comes second.

After releasing what she expected to be her one and only musical statement, 2007’s EP ‘Little Bit’, everything suddenly went her way – not least due to pop gem title track, which is also to be found on ‘Youth Novels’. Record labels queued up, but Lykke Li opted out and released it on her own label, LL Recordings (it is, however, distributed by Warner Music).

Based on the heartbreak of a three year on-off relationship ‘Youth Novels’ is a very personal album, tending open mic therapy, but that is one reason why Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson – as she’s named at birth – connects so well. Another, inextricably bounded up with the prior, is her fragile, childlike voice adding an intimate intensity.

A third – and this is why you want to boogie first and sympathize later – is the music. Produced by Björn Yttling (Peter Bjorn And John) and Lasse Mårtén (Kelly Clarkson, Pink, Backstreet Boys and Céline Dion to name some) it is an awesome collection of pop songs, building on everything from and in between hip hop, blues, folk and soul.

‘Youth Novels’ is intricate and eccentric while straight up and fetching and basically just a compelling album that propels Lykke Li into the very top of the new Swedish pop wave.

Genre: Pop
Who: Lykke Li
Album: Youth Novels
Label: LL Recordings/Warner Music
Year: 2008
Country: Sweden
Language: English
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Recommended tracks:
Dance Dance Dance – I’m Good, I’m Gone – Let It Fall – Little Bit – Complaint Department