Lykke Li - So Sad So Sexy

Rating:

An album that blossoms and blossoms every listen.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Lykke Li. Understandably so, with three albums under her belt and a devoted following behind her every move - her rise to beloved status has been mesmerising. It’s come from a natural place, by that we mean every move that she’s made has been coated in a message and power coming straight from the gut and out into the world, whether that’s in defiant heights or devastating rawness. It feels like the world has changed since 2014’s ‘I Never Learn’, and that change is something you can hear clearly on ‘so sad so sexy’, an album that evolves and grows from those foundations into a distinctly modern pop record full of vulnerability and swagger.

While before, Lykke Li would reach for tribal heights - ‘so sad so sexy’ trades in subtle but engulfing soundscapes, something that doesn’t truly shine on first listen but builds and builds into an intoxicating world to be in. The knack for soaring melodies rings loudest on the likes of the title track, ‘deep end’ and ‘hard rain’, while ‘sex money feelings die’ may be the liquor-soaked late-night anthem of the summer. Throughout, there’s a committed move into menacing darkness-drenched pop, something that to a Lykke Li fan may take a while to come around to, but in establishing herself as a whole new force on modern pop, it makes her undeniably exciting.

When artists move blatantly into new terrains, it can sometimes be quite a brave move. For Lykke Li, it’s one that comes out roses - an album that blossoms and blossoms every listen. ‘so sad so sexy’ is an album that, when lived with, could become the record that captures someone's year - a stunning playing card for a new era Lykke Li has effortlessly breathed into life. Jamie Muir