Lykke Li
I Never Learn
Reviewed by: Brian Roser
First there was ABBA, then there was Roxette, now out of Sweden comes the music of Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson. For the sake of promoting her work, however, she wisely shortened it to Lykke Li.
I Never Learn is the third album from this poetic soprano. Her songs highlight the more melancholy side of love, but it never smothers you with depression. The line ‘I never learn’ implies that you have always experienced sorrow at the hands of love, but you are still willing to give it one more try. Well, except maybe for the song “Never Gonna Love Again,” but even then, Li sings about going back to the beginning, rather than giving up on love entirely.
The album is slightly shorter than usual at 9 tracks, but features a variety of instruments and sounds. Not least of which were the drums in “Just Like A Dream,” such that I would not have been surprised to hear Carly Simon come in on the chorus. The vocals are beautiful and delivered with heartfelt sincerity. Unlike The Twilight movies her songs have been featured in, her lyrics are meaningful and exceptionally well written. Take, for example, the opening lines from the track “Gunshot”: “I am longing for your poison / Like a cancer for its prey.”
Lykke Li does for pop what the Indigo Girls did for folk. This is breakup music. It is best appreciated with a pint of chocolate ice cream and a sense of heartache. As such, I’m not certain what rating to give this. If you’ve just been dumped, it’s bad-ass, if not, it’s still quite listenable.
Hey, according to Wikipedia, she and I have the same birthday.
Rating: Bad-Ass
