(pair of mirrors)

#5. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

“Youth Knows No Pain”

It’s a great feeling when an artist you really like comes out with a second, even better, even more impressive album. Such is the case with Lykke Li. She is getting better with age.Youth Novels was one of my favourite albums in university, but Wounded Rhymes is full of new insights, danceable tunes, reflective ballads and sing along songs. She did it again, but even better.  Lykke seems to have grown up a lot from Youth Novels, and she says now, “Youth Knows No Pain”. 

The success of Lykke Li is really exciting for me. The way Wounded Rhymes seems to be borderline mainstream says a lot to me about where music is headed. It seems the indie, the intelligent, the innovative, is on the up and up. Good music is finally starting to get the attention and ticket sales they deserve. It’s so refreshing to see a talented pop singer like Lykke selling out huge venues in Toronto and everywhere else. She is clever, talented, beautiful, and writes undeniably good songs. When you’re listening to Wounded Rhymes there is definitely no denying that music can be catchy and intelligent at the same time. She’s the mastermind behind these fantastic pop tunes.  Its this level of accessibility and the stomp along sing along quality of Lykke Li’s engaging songwriter that makes her the reigning indie queen in my books. And right along side those catchy singalong songs are gentle, sad, pretty and quiet ones too. 

I admire the way Lykke writes from this poignant perspective of being a smart and beautiful woman. It’s so brutally and beautifully honest. Songs like Rich Kid Blues and Get Some are both provocative and catchy, without seeming in the least bit over the top. I think she is an inspiring woman in the music scene and is going places even bigger than she’s been in 2011. 

L and I often have trouble agreeing on which albums deserve which spots on our countdowns, but since Wounded Rhymes came out we both knew it held a special place both in our hearts and on the countdown. We’ve enjoyed this album together and apart, recorded and live. It was an obvious choice from the get go. 

-M