Lykke Li – I Never Learn

Lykke Li broke as an artists that mixed little dancy beats with the mindset of a singer-songwriter. Heartbreak, longing, pain of love and the love of pain. The latter formula has remained, but the electronic edge has vanished almost completely. This is gospel Li, heartbroken as always and not fooling with anything resembling happiness in grief. Maybe Li herself got tired of only being known as a remixable pop character and the agenda of I Never Learn was to avoid anything resembling “I Follow Rivers”.

So she pushes us into her world of sadness, and it doesn´t feel like a blessing anymore. “I let my true love die, I had his heart but I broke it everytime” she sings on “No Rest For The Wicked”. The heavy falling drums and sparse instrumentation just underline this notion of opera like drama.

Lykke Li - No Rest For The Wicked from Lykke Li on Vimeo.

There a times in which there is a glimpse of hope, “Just Like A Dream” and “Silver Line” being the best examples. These songs fit the short album perfectly and give a good portion of variety. Especially “Silver Line” give you some kind of ‘wipe away your tears’ feel, but in reality paints a picture of a lover giving up himself completely. “Gunshot” speeds along just as the crushing realization of this kind of loving being futile and destructive. Another standout is the first single “Love Me Like I´m Not Made Of Stone” and is the yearning shout of a lover losing it and wishing for a little solace. While the ending tracks might be too in your face with choruses like “Never Gonna Love Again” or “Heart Of Steel” and the instrumentation take a too pompous tone, “Sleeping Alone” makes up for it all with it´s swaying piano and a nod of acceptance to fate. I Never Learn is definitely Li´s best album to date and a perfect evolution for her as a songwriter and musician. And for anyone who knows his heartbleed, this is a must.

7/10