Lykke Li
I Never Learn

Three years after the "Wounded Rhymes" that made her known to the world, complete with a chart-busting (and nerve-racking) hit "I Follow Rivers," Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li once again steps into the global indie-pop scene with an album that, once again, presents us with new facets of her multifaceted artistic personality. So, after the timid debut "Youth Novel" and the explosion of sounds and percussion of the second work, with "I Never Learn," the artist brings significant evolutions in terms of sound to her compositions, resulting in a more compact record than the previous ones, characterized by a twilight atmosphere and devoid, this time, of any regard for the charts.

Sure, there are still tracks with a catchy feel, but on a decisively different level from the aforementioned "I Follow Rivers" or "Sadness is A Blessing," so much so that even when the chorus of the songs becomes incisive, they are far from radio-friendly or designed to catch the attention of the most distracted listeners, especially because it would be a shame to limit this album to mere background music to have on while doing something else. "I Never Learn" is indeed like a river of emotions illuminated by the light of the Moon: one must listen carefully to grasp all its nuances, delve into it, and let oneself be carried away by its melodies and dreamlike atmospheres, highlighted right from the title track, which opens the album with guitars and strings, and present throughout the album, sometimes accompanied by fitting piano lines supported by tribal percussion ("No Rest For the Wicked", "Sleeping Alone", "Just Like a Dream") or subtle hints of electronics (the subdued "Silver Line" and the more imposing "Gunshot"), then moving through elegant acoustic moments ("Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone") and even allowing for some gospel touches ("Heart of Steel"). What's surprising is that despite the variety of directions taken within a single album, it all remains decidedly homogeneous and compact, yet not monotonous, thanks in part to the production, and partly to Lykke Li's own ability to skillfully navigate through multiple genres and musical influences without being dispersive and maintaining her own well-defined personality, halfway between the ancestral flavors of Bat For Lashes and the more pop ones of Florence + The Machine, without being too pretentious.

In short, "I Never Learn" is a more than deserved promotion for an honest artist who, while not disdaining typically pop melodies, proves capable of creating fascinating and unique compositions, able to satisfy those seeking music that is not too cerebral, yet stays away from the bland junk too often fed to us by the radio.