Lykke Li was somebody I'd tried to get into previously, but for some reason it never quite took until I heard this album. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind before? The weird thing is that 2014 has been a really stable year for me personally and emotionally (well relatively), so the fact I've identified so much with a Swedish misery guts and her album seemingly soundtracking some huge heartbreak is curious. 2014's been the first year in a long time where I've not been in a relationship with anybody (though I'm happy about that), maybe that's been a subconscious factor?
Anyway, each song approaches love and loss from a slightly gloomy Scandinavian perspective, which I appreciate will seem old hat to some of my esteemed friends but I found quite refreshing. From the wistful opening track to the closing lament of Sleeping Alone, she creates a world where to love and be loved is everything and to lose it can end your life – something that when written down sounds a bit teen-angst, but is entirely captivating when listening.
My highlight of the album is probably Gunshot, which was the second single and came with this arresting video:
It was also the most-Shazamed advert track of 2014, which is definitely one for the intro VT if she ever does X Factor. The song manages to capture everything I love about both the album and Lykke Li as a popstar; the vulnerability in her vocal coupled with the rising tension in the instrumental really combine to create something magical, and the flush of strings during the chorus is both heartwaming and heart-stopping at the same time (even if it IS slightly reminiscent of that Gil Scott-Heron/jamie xx track from a few years ago).
