Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 16/06/08
Label: WEA

Since its '70s and '80s heyday, pop music has been tragically devalued. Choreographed to within an inch of its life, mutating into "The X-Factor" (TV's equivalent of a knobbly knees contest) and regurgitating a succession of homogenous boy bands and girl bands, its current health is on a par with Britney Spears' mental state. Check out "The Blackout"'s moronic and robotic siren call - art, individuality and excitement barely register.

Pop has all the longevity and passion of this week's Heat magazine. Reach for the stars? As a career path it offers little more than a slow crawl to the top shelf, "Big Brother", or a leaked 'night-cam' sex home video. There are exceptions, of course. Most of them coming out of Scandinavia. Sweden to be more precise. Now almost 30 years since the demise of Abba (who remain the dancing queens of the genre) a nu-pop renaissance has arisen from the frozen lands of Europe's north.

Led by electro mavericks The Knife, and the emotional disco of Robyn, the Swedes now proudly present Lykke Li, 2008's girl most likely too. A Madonna obsessive and former dancer, Li joins the aforementioned by tapping into the early '80s manna of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Japan - adding a dash of Bjorkish ambition to her imaginative homemade digitalism.

Most will be aware of "Little Bit", her flawless debut single where the 'act of love' is delivered in a girly voice reading the smut poetry of Serge Gainsbourg. "How we move from A to B / It can't be up to me" she coos, against strange gamelan percussion. "'Cos I don't know, eye to eye, thigh to thigh / I'm a little bit in love with you…" It continues rhyming "my legs apart" with "tainted heart", and is just a little bit special.

With Peter, Bjorn & John's Bjorn Yttling twiddling the production dials, there are other similarly infectious moments. And stacks of ambition too. Moving from the Concretes-like indie of opener "Tonight", the listener is rewarded with a succession of curve balls, including spoken-word ambience ("Melodies & Desires"), hip-swinging electro ("I'm Good, I'm Gone") and nursery-rhyme show-stoppers ("My"). This is a brilliant imagination running riot and "I'm Good I'm Gone", in particular, should be a monster hit. Everywhere.

More impressive, is the fact that, as an album, "Youth Novels" barely flags. A banquet of bewildering sounds is served, culminating in the insane world music mélange of "Breaking It Up" and the symphonic twirl of "Window Blues". Still only 22 (!), Lykke Li has constructed one of 2008's most ambitiously grandiose statements. Madonna can shuffle off to her Live Nation millions, a new pop saviour has been found.

    by Adam Webb