You could dismiss Li as little girl’s voice pop for twentysomething males, but you’d make a mistake. Li makes simply achingly cool music. Like Nouvelle Vague with balls.

Li sings in an absent, ‘I’m-not-even-aware-I’m-doing-this’ style that transcends sexy. Meanwhile, a beat box shuffles and synthesisers add sparse melodic touches. The 22-year old Swede’s debut album ‘Youth Novels’ has an overall atmosphere of muted euphoria with a melancholic aftertaste. Very New Romantic, in a way.

You can hear the New Romantics influence on ‘Little Bit’ with it’s chorus like a stripped down, skeletal version of Spandau Ballet.

At other times, Li sounds like a feistier version of Nouvelle Vague covering New Order or the Punk Pop of the Dead Boys on ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ and ‘Melodies & Desires’ respectively.

Li’s worked through a veritable kaleidoscope of musical influences on ‘Youth Novels’. Fans of Dan Le Sac and Scroobious Pip will salivate over ‘Let It Fall’, while Coldplay followers should get a kick out of ‘Tonight’.

‘Youth Novels’ - even the title sounds like a New Romantic album - has definitely more to offer than the single ‘I’m Good I’m Gone’. That track alone is worth the price of the album, with its ‘Louie Louie’ piano intro and all.

A curious album that will appeal to mainstream folks and more serious musos at the same time.

Listen Here to LykkeLi’s debut ‘Youth Novels’ and download the album from iTunes.

If you’d like to hear complete, unabridged versions of Lykke Li’s coolest tunes, please check her MySpace profile.

Thanks to Tuneraker user tararabumdeeay for suggesting a Lykke Li review!

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