08.06.18

Since emerging in the late 00s, Lykke Li’s appeal has always been the hyperbolic emotionality of music made for the heart. Along with the fellow Swedish artists Robyn, Peter Bjorn and John and Miike Snow – all of whom have been, or continue to be, Li collaborators – her flawless soprano harnesses the hooks of 60s pop with a touch of sleazy euro electro to produce something alluring.

Tracks like Get Some and I Follow Rivers from 2011’s Wounded Rhymes are lasting testaments to an attention to detail that endures with so sad so sexy. Li’s foray into the deep edges of hip-hop and R&B come in the minimal bass and skittering beats of deep end. Björn Yttling’s usual production is substituted here with producers working with Frank Ocean, Zayn, Drake, Nicki Minaj, as well as Kanye West collaborator and Li’s partner, Jeff Bhasker. This new development – following a rather typical contemporary pop career trajectory – is delicate, though, where Li’s skill and versatility sees the sound of so sad so sexy remaining her own. Smart and sophisticated, it’s a fourth album reaching a new stage of maturity, while staying conscious of the industry that informs it.

Steph Kretowicz