Lykke Li

Time Out New York
Preview

The Swedish pop star ups the drama on her new record—and in real life.

The Swedish singer Lykke Li recently canceled tour dates in Europe because of complications arising from a panic attack of sorts: “I had some kind of complete meltdown at Marks & Spencer in Glasgow,” she wrote on her website by way of explanation. While many U.K. shoppers will tell you that’s par for the course, Lykke Li (born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson) does have a dark side that her pinup looks and cool-girl cred don’t immediately suggest.

Apart from anything else, one would assume that all would be peachy if you were collaborating with Kanye and Drake, as well as being remixed by Beck, courted by Kings of Leon (who requested that she cover one of their songs) and featured in Glee. But the Swedish propensity for melancholy throbs through Zachrisson’s songs (as it has in the work of fellow Swedes the Cardigans, Robyn, ABBA, Roxette…). Her new, second album, Wounded Rhymes, draws heavily on ’60s girl-group pop, but unlike the dislocated, flat sound of, say, Vivian Girls or Best Coast, Zachrisson ups the drama and goes full Shangri-Las: “I’d rather die in your arms than die lonesome,” she swoons over booming drums on “Love Out of Lust.” Similarly, the Hammond organ on “Youth Knows No Pain” suggests “Monster Mash” on downers, the single “I Follow Rivers” Depeche Mode with tambourines. It’s potent stuff, in other words—the sonic equivalent of smelling salts. The fact that Zachrisson also has excellent taste in covers—Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” and A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?”—pretty much guarantees this show will be a knockout.