Where The Highs Won't Bring You Down

"Normally people clap and cheer at this point," Lykke Li sniped, as she returned to the stage for her encore in Tripod, Dublin, last week.

She may be prone to prima donna behaviour but, with one of this year's strongest albums under her belt and a live show that more than does it justice, I guess she's entitled to have a high opinion of itself.

Wounded Rhymes is an album I keep returning to and discovering new favourites and there are a few great remixes keeping things interesting.

The Gold Panda remix of Sadness Is My Blessing pitches Lykke's lovelorn vocal against a glitchy lo-fi backdrop.

Lykke Li, "Sadness Is A Blessing (Gold Panda Remix)" by The FADER

Meanwhile, the Its Overture mix of I Know Places incorporates elements of Talking Heads' This Must Be The Place to superb effect. Doesn't it sound a bit like Miike Snow's Animal?

I Know Places (Its Overture Remix) by Its Overture

The new video for Sadness Is A Blessing is great also:

Lykke Li: Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li's sparkling sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes, has been made available for streaming in full over on Hype Machine.

The album's first single, Get Some, came as something of a surprise. With its pounding tribal beats and sexually-charged lyrics, it marked a clear shift from the lovelorn balladry of her debut. The tribal drums and harder sound are found throughout Wounded Rhymes, but lyrically, many tracks find Lykke in a more despondent mindset.

As their titles suggest tracks like Unrequited Love, Rich Kid Blues and Sadness Is A Blessing aren't exactly happy clappy affairs. I Know Places, meanwhile, is a downbeat highlight, with Lykke trilling earnestly over gentle strumming.

It's not all doom and gloom, however, and scattered among the ballads are more defiant tracks like call-to-arms Youth Knows No Pain and current single I Follow Rivers. Jerome, meanwhile, is a menacing lovesong with lyrics like “I'm screaming at nothing, Jerome. You've got me or nothing, Jerome.”

Wounded Rhymes is an accomplished album that should assert Lykke Li's place in indie-pop royalty and a welcome alternative to the identikit over-produced output of many of her contemporaries.

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes (Hype Machine Album Exclusive) by LykkeLi

Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

Lykke Li's sophomore effort is shaping up to be quite something. First single 'Get Some' was one of my favourite tracks of 2010 and now comes another gem in the form of 'I Follow Rivers', which features more of the tribal beats and sensual delivery that made its predecessor such an intriguing listen, albeit with fewer references to solicited sex.

The track comes flanked by a disco-tinged remix courtesy of The Magician, which works surprisingly well.

Lykke Li plays Dublin's Tripod on April 16th. Book tickets here.

Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers

Lykke Li - I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) (Radio Rip)

Like A Shotgun Needs An Outcome

The new Lykke Li EP hit the web less that 48 hours ago but, already, it's totally permeated the blogosphere.

The Swedish singer's stunning debut, 'Youth Novels', had critics fawning over her lovelorn lullabies back in 2008 but radio stations and the record-buying public were less enthused by the material.

No harm though because, based on the initial reaction to these first two cuts from her sophomore album, Lykke seems set to make more of an impact this time around.

While heart-wrenching ballad 'Paris Blue' treads familiar territory, 'Get Some' marks a change of pace with its rhythmic drums and racy lyrics and makes for a more intriguing listen.

Lykke Li - Get Some

Lykke Li - Paris Blue



Both tracks can be downloaded for free here.

Ask A Silly Question

I've just stumbled upon this gorgeous cover of The Shirelles' 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' by Swedish songbird Lykke Li, recorded in July of this year in Stockholm:



Yes, Lykke. I will.

Robot Rock

I was really hoping that Norwegian electro duo Röyksopp would be added to the Electric Picnic line-up and today I got my wish. Check out State for the full list of additions.

Röyksopp's 'Junior' is definitely one of my favourites albums from 2009 so far. The album features two duets with Swedish songbird Lykke Li who happens to be performing at Electric Picnic so hopefully we can look forward to Lykke getting on stage with the guys to perform the tracks. I was lucky enough to catch her Dublin gigs last year and she's an incredible live performer.

Another Swedish lady, Robyn, handles vocal duties on Röyksopp's upcoming single, 'The Girl and The Robot'. The track is unfathomably brilliant and has the potential to be Röyksopp's biggest hit to date.

This shot from the video looks very promising and there are some excellent remixes doing the rounds, including this wonderful mix by Chateau Marmont.

Would it be too much to ask for Robyn to being her robot-oriented amour to Stradbally?

[Image: Persona Sauna]

Little Bit Brilliant

Lykke Li can do no wrong. Her début album 'Youth Novels', you might recall, was one of my favourites of 2008 and both times I've seen her live, I've been blown away.

Just when I thought the Swedish songstress had exhausted her album of its 'commercial' hits, she unleashes this video. In the clip, a tearful Lykke trills her track 'Tonight' completely live, adding a whole new dimension to a song that was already fairly brilliant.



If you enjoyed that, I suggest you log onto www.lykkeli.com where you can download the track from the 'Secret Chapter' section, completely gratuit.

[Image: Unpiano.com]

Benevolent Blazes

English dance-pop outfit Friendly Fires came to my attention when they jumped on the (already rather crowded) Lykke Li bandwagon last year and covered her track, 'I'm Good, I'm Gone'.

Their quirky rendition of the track is fairly brilliant and it turns out their own stuff is decent too. Latest single 'Skeleton Boy' is great and the song is teamed with an equally impressive video.

Isn't the melody on the chorus very similar to Olive's 'You're Not Alone'?


[Image: The Fader]

Ménage à Trois

Eimear discovered this amazing track from the forthcoming N.A.S.A. album that features a collaboration from... wait for it...

Santogold...

Lykke Li...

and Kanye West.

I've no idea how I never heard that this was in the pipelines. What a dream team.