Female singers, they’re all the range at the minute aren’t they?
Over the last year and a bit, the UK has spat out quite a few of these creatures that have gone on to sell many records. And subsequently make some fat man in a suit rich enough so he can wipe his arse with £20 notes.
Most of them, though, have come from the bloody Brit School of music. This place is worse than Borstal in terms of unleashing dangerous musical predators on to the street. Frankly, we are a bit sick of one place churning out the same thing. It stops other females such as the already trawled Beth Rowley and Laura Marley a look in.
Such dominance from the same band of artists also stops top class foreign females from getting an airplay. So this is why we have to bring Lykke Li to your attention.
Coming from the wonderful land of Sweden, Lykke Li, aka Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, has her songs on permanent rotation in our small and smelly workplace. We don’t really know how to describe the sound, but her voice is something else. At only 21, she can sing like the stuff of legends. Her gorgeous subtle tones will make you stop and listen as they edge over a bed of mixed sounds.
One of the main reasons why we like Lykke Li so much is because of her lyrics. Over in the UK, we are constantly hearing sodding Lily Allen and Kate Nash bang on about how crap their lives are and how men are total tossers. Great if you love diluted feminism for an idiot generation. But there is no real feeling of heart and soul in what they sing about in their annoying cockney accents. Amy Winehouse, on the other hand, is more famous for being a quivering drug-addled skeleton than for any of her actual songs.
Just listening to any of the tracks from Lykke Li shows a girl with her head screwed on straight who’s in it for the music, not the fame and celebrity status. As we listen to tracks like Tonight for the millionth time, we can’t help wonder why someone like this hasn’t shone in from the UK who hasn’t had to win it through a talent show or has battled through the live circuit like most indie bands have.
Tonight is a simple piano ballad with soaring vocals that is simply just fucking amazing. It is also available for download, and we really urge you to partially own something that oozes in warmth, beauty and soul. If this track isn’t used in some TV/film scene where everyone is a bit weepy, then some music executives need to look somewhere else for a job. What makes it even better is the fact it’s a demo.
A steady and brisk drum tap is all that’s needed on Dance Dance Dance with a gentle pluck of a guitar. Combine some wonky sounding brass towards the end and it makes for a different sound that just seems to complement her vocals perfectly. This is our favorite song to listen to that is available on her MySpace, and it is on her soon to be released album, Youth Novels.
With loads of tour dates around America and Europe to support the records release, you’d be a bit daft to miss out on seeing her live. With a voice like this, it’ll only sound better live then on a slightly compressed record.
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