Wounded Rhymes is the second full length album from the Swedish Singer. I've heard and loved all of Lykke Li's singles on the radio so when I heard she was playing Parklife I thought I'd listen to the album before I went to see her live. I'm glad I did.
The album, produced by Bjorn Yttling from Peter Bjorn and John, is full of contrasts, between powerhouse tracks and the vulnerable, between the primal drum based rhythmical tracks and the hauntingly melodic. The album has a quirky retro feel to a lot of songs and a darkness to the majority of tracks which I find really interesting and strangely not depressing, for the most part. The contrasts continue as her lyrics have a sadness to them with a bit of an uplifting twist especially in the song Love Out of Lust with lyrics like "We will live longer than I will. We will be better than I was. We can cross rivers with our will. We can do better than I can. So dance while you can. Dance cos you must. Love out of lust"
Her sound is a very minimal and stripped back one. She doesn't have the most amazing voice ever, but it's raw and pure and perfect for her sound. Standout tracks are Get Some which is very provocative and a little filthy, lyrics wise but has such a sexy groove to it with those primal drums, I can't help but love it, and Rich Kid Blues takes full advantage of that raw voice and gritty sound and is one of the rockier tracks on the album. The track I like least is Unrequited Love. It's painfully slow, is probably the saddest track and has an annoying 'Shoo Bop Shoo Waa' all through the chorus. Although in saying that, the track 'I Know Places' is probably slower, and a little sadder, and it's an absolutely amazing piece of music, it reminds me a little of the song she did for the New Moon soundtrack Possibilities which made her become a bit of a house hold name. Li really bears her soul in this album and its so personal I'm left feeling like I know her a little better for it.
It's been a while since I've gotten my hands on such an amazing album which ticks all the boxes for me and has something for everyone, she shows a maturity in her music far beyond her 24 years. It's a really interesting experience full of contrasts and layers and I give it a 4 out of 5.
