Lykke Li

America, say hello to your new favorite Swedish songstress. Her name is Lykke Li, she is twenty-two years old, and her debut four-song EP, Little Bit, out on her own label LL Recordings on May 6th, 2008, is an amazing introduction to an artist whose name we’re pretty sure you’ll be hearing all year long. Recorded in Lykke Li’s hometown of Stockholm and New York City, and produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John, the songs on Little Bit are a reflection of Lykke Li’s globe-trotting upbringing, marrying sounds that are diverse and worldly into incredible three minute pop songs. Lykke Li’s uncontainable spirit and drive towards exploration conveys itself perfectly in her songs – they defy genre classifications and follow any aural road they choose. And it’s this particular strain of otherworldliness, a quality found innately in Lykke Li, that has ignited quite a commotion on both sides of the Atlantic. Her debut album, Youth Novels, already released on her own label in Sweden (to see release here later this year), has garnered her a Swedish Grammy nomination and a deafening roar of acclaim in the UK. Joining a few of the dots between Feist, Robyn, Peter Bjorn and John and Bjork, “Little Bit” is a hushed, breath-y, out-of-the-box smash. It’s deceptively simple and undeniably addictive, full of coquettish “oohs,” a Casio keyboard beat and a dizzy organ laced through the chorus as Lykke Li waxes poetic on the thrills and pitfalls of getting very physical indeed. “Dance Dance Dance” recalls Norma Frazer with Dancehall horns and honeyed, harmonied back-up vocals, while “Everybody But Me” features a leftfield arrangement of drum taps and a harmonium set against Lykke Li’s feathery vocals. “Time Flies” caps off the EP, a stark, piano-driven tune centered around a two chord melody and Lykke Li’s voice spilling tales of her vulnerabilities and sounding as soft as baby’s breath.