Lykke Li Invites The World To Get Some

What a difference two years can make. When Li Lykee Timotej Zachrisson a.k.a. Lykke Li was introduced to the United States in 2008, she made a solid impression with indie music fans despite being framed up as a kid-approved pop star from Sweden. As it turned out, she was and she wasn't.

While Youth Novels was well received in indie circles, the overall album seemed too soft to take seriously. It blended more pop and electronic than alternative rock. Over the last couple years, she has slowly recast herself as a singer with much more power, veracity, and diversity.

Her latest from Rough Trade snarls out an angry, pimped-out single with Get Some while the B-side dishes out a slow and brooding sampling of pained rawness. The coupling is striking, showing off a much more mature Lykke Li. Maturity has added some smoke to her always remarkable voice.

Li was born in Ystad, Skåne, in 1986. She has lived all over the world with her family, including Sweden, Portugal, Morocco, Nepal, and India. When not touring, she now resides in Stockholm.

Get Some has sexed-up lyrics, but it proves Lykke Li has deep talent.

The single, co-written by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, offers up some racy domination, with Lykke Li snarling "don't pull your pants before I go down" to an aggressively steady drum beat. And then, later, she screams "I'm your prostitute, you goin' get some" before the song breaks into its chorus.


Getting much less attention, but my favorite of the two songs if I had to pick between the two, is Paris Blue. It blisters with a lament that shares the loss of love, the result of choices the singer made in a haunting confessional and explanation that lingers long after the first listen.

All the while you lit your streets for me,
I cursed the pavement that I walked
All the while you loaned your nights to me,
I was unable to forget.

It's a story about how one person might feel trapped, pull away, land in the arms of another, and blame the other person. But as the chorus reveals, they eventually feel the loss, guilt, and take responsibility for breaking their own heart. Compared to Get Some, it's a remarkable contrast.

Lykke Li's Get Some And Paris Blue Rip An 8.4 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

It was great timing for Lykke Li to come out with these songs. After cutting an excellent single for New Moon, Possibility, it sends a message that she doesn't intend to skew her music in the direction of the series. She has something more to offer.

Depending on when you read this review, you can download Get Some and Paris Blue for free. Once her offer ends or if you want to support the artist, you can find Get Some on iTunes. On Amazon, both can be downloaded.