“I Follow Rivers”
from the album Wounded Rhymes
2011
iTunes
Swedish ingénue Lykke Li‘s breakout debut album, 2008’s Youth Novels, was full of quirky and melodic dance-pop that was stylish, bubbly, and irresistible — the singer landed prime gigs at festivals all over the world, was remixed by Drake, and placed a song on the hit soundtrack to 2009’s Twilight sequel New Moon. But on her follow-up, Wounded Rhymes, produced by Peter Bjorn & John‘s Bjorn Yttling and due March 1, the 24-year-old singer has gone deeper and darker.
Proving that sexy, throbbing lead-off single “Get Some” was no aberration, “I Follow Rivers,” is a moody mid-tempo jam propelled by a noirish guitar line, swirling keyboards, and thumping percussion.
“I think I sound more experienced,” says Lykke Li. “I’m always trying to do something different. I think some people wrote me off with Youth Novels because I’m a Scandinavian woman with a high voice. I tried to be more raw this time.”
She succeeded. On “I Follow Rivers” when she sings, in a sultrier voice than we’ve heard from her before, “I follow you / Deep sea baby / I follow you / Dark doom honey” it sounds like a threat from an icy femme fatale.
“I’m happy with how the album turned out,” says Li, who’ll be on tour this spring. “I feel like it’s the right next step for my body of work.”
Based on her first two singles, she’s got nothing to worry about.