Youth Novels
In some ways Youth Novels is difficult to approach. Many of its themes are inherently feminine. Lykke Li has commented that the songs are all built from her own life experiences and that the album should be thought of a storybook of her young life. (She’s 22/23 now.) As such the album delivers thoughts on love and relationships from a female perspective, but coated in infectious and dance-inducing pop. She is at times an amazingly sure young woman and at other times lonely and broken, but no matter the emotion Lykke Li creates extra strength in her music by owning her emotions.
In fact, I’m probably unqualified to speak about the emotions dealt with throughout the album. Songs such as Little Bit speak of love, but in a manner that in some ways are uniquely feminine. She writes of dropping her barrier emotionally,”eye to eye/thigh to thigh/I let go” and then physically, “for you I keep my legs apart and forget about my tainted heart.” Her lyrics touch on an openness, or acceptance that is often not required by women’s male partner. But the idea that unrequited love is not required to move forward physically is a sentiment that can be understood by both sexes.
The foils Complaint Department and Time Flies seem to perfectly capture the way women can be simultaneously independent and strong without losing their delicate nature. And the album goes on to further explore all these themes through its twelve tracks.
Of course all of the themes are neatly packaged in wonderful sounds, many of which easily allow the listener to pass over the content of the lyrics and opt to use the words as purely sounds. Outside of Time Flies any insecurities are expressed primarily through the lyrics rather than the overall sound of the song. Let It Fall is an ode to crying and tears, but you wouldn’t know it by the steady rhythm and playful punching of wooden percussion in the background. Spanish guitars, horns, timpani (used perfectly on Complaint Department) all speckle the album and help to create a varied yet focused sound that doesn’t quite escape the influence of Bjorn Yttling – not a bad thing.
Listen to the music, but be careful not to only focus on it because to do so would miss the point and would miss large truths in the record.
Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance
Lykke Li – Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix)
Lykke Li will be playing the Paradise on October 23rd. Keep an eye out for a ticket give-a-way a bit closer to the show. Her live act is not to be missed. Youth Novels is out tomorrow, August 19th.
