REVIEW: Wounded Rhymes

Recently I've been introduced to Lykke Li. It's difficult to classify her in a genre but I guess you could say her new album, Wounded Rhymes, is indie-pop with some electronic influence. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, Lykke Li isn't Ke$ha or Lady Gaga or Brittany Spears. Her music, at least on this album differs from these artists by actually being good. Lykke Li is obviously talented and she's put that talent to good use, making a coherent, tightly crafted album from start to finish.

I only listened to a couple of tracks from her first album, Youth Novels. I understand that some people may have heard her through Drake's remix of "Little Bit." Wounded Rhymes is a completely different beast from Youth Novels. It's a foray into darker, grander territory. Where her debut more closely resembles the pop genre, her sophomore effort sounds like its been influenced by a much wider spectrum of the musical world. I have to commend the diversity thats present in her composition. Upbeat, self-confident tracks like "Get Some" are coupled with stripped-down ballads like "Unrequited Love." It's hard to place Lykke Li as a person when listening to Wounded Rhymes just because it exhibits such a large range of emotion. In "I Follow Rivers" she seems completely dependent on her lover. However, she's the one doing all the reassuring on "I Know Places."

The closest she comes to a title track is "Sadness is a Blessing" in which she begins by singing "My wounded rhymes make silent cries tonight." She goes on to sing the chorus "Sadness is a blessing. Sadness is a curse. Sadness is my boyfriend. Oh sadness, I'm your girl." While these aren't the most clever lyrics I've ever heard, she sings them extremely passionately. Not only that but she does it without sounding sad at all. It sounds more like she's at church giving praise than sitting in her room alone. That complex marriage of delivery and substance really sums up what this album is all about. I'm glad Wounded Rhymes is being met with the critical acceptance that it deserves. Lykke Li was on Jimmy Fallon's show the other night and she really puts a lot into her performances. If I have to be in a room with pop music playing in the near future, I'd prefer it to be Lykke Li. I'm giving it 2 Daft Punk Coca-Cola's way, way up. Chyeah!