ARTICLE BY SOPHIA PORTIER
AUG. 4 | LOS ANGELES—The very walls of the majestic Wiltern theatre shook tonight with a lot of love for Swedish sensation Lykke Li.
Sure, Pitchfork has a crush on her, and many blogs have named her debut Youth Novels one of the best albums of 2008. But forget about the hype; it’s really about her unique-sounding songs and how Li crafts her soft vocals all around, in between and through sweet Swedish beats that really sets her apart from all other solo-singer acts.
It’s hard to pinpoint tonight’s highlights, as every song she sang was top indie performance gold. Li may be young, but she possesses a thorough understanding of the art of live performance, at times doing her own “Dance, Dance, Dance” to the delight of the audience.
The show got off to an electric spine-tingling start when “Lykke Li” in large white letters slowly descended from the ceiling to suspend dramatically right above the stage. Li began by playing the piano, then got up for the song “Dance, Dance, Dance.” Everyone jostled, scrambled and craned their necks to get a good look at her.
Dressed in a stylish black get-up, she brought to mind visions of some dance priestess. She looked entirely modern, futuristic even, but there was also a touch of the primitive to her, as if she were a medicine woman there to bestow upon us the remedy of song. She was truly a breathless sight to behold.
“Dance, Dance, Dance” was a standout of course, with such lyrics as, “When I’m shaking my hips/Look for the swing/The words are, written in the air,” which are so endearing and undeniably cute. With that one song alone, it seemed tears of happiness blossomed in the back of people’s throats.
Then it was on to the ecstatic attitude of break-up song “I’m Good, I’m Gone,” which had Li going crazy powerful with a drumstick on a cymbal. Intense fog clouded the stage as well as dramatic lighting, creating an excellent backdrop for the music that was shaking the theatre’s walls.
Up next was her first hit and fan favorite “Little Bit.” It is important to note that surprisingly, Li sounds better live. With a band backing her, her songs really take off, and the very sound of her voice feeds the soul.
The crowd couldn’t take their eyes off her. Their pupils seemed super-glued to her every move as she sensually shook her hips up and down. Li sang a new song that she had penned in L.A., her voice echoing, then making sweet, sweet love to the walls. She also did a dance-off version of “Complaint Department,” which is so beat-heavy that one might be inclined to do their own version of the indie robot.
Her song “Let It Fall” called for a sad sway of the hips and a move of the lips mouthing the sweetly poignant lyrics Li is known for, but she paused with a flourish in the middle of it. She then exclaimed, “Let’s have a dance party!” and urged “sexy people” to dance, dance, dance.
She also sang Kleerup track “Until We Bleed,” starting it off acapella then bringing in those most hypnotic beats. Li busted out a megaphone near the end of some tracks, including “Breaking It Up,” whose music and chorus demands the sort of buck-wild frenzied movements you might find in a neon-lit club.
She ended her set awash in gorgeous red light, singing her mightiest ballad yet, “Tonight.”
Lykke Li performing live and in L.A. is some kind of spectacular. Her show is one of the best of 2009 thus far, and Li is every bit as precious as her songs. The audience was already so in love with her music that they cheered wildly at the beginning of each song, before she even sang a single word. Fans can’t wait and are near-dying to hear what comes out of this Swedish starlet next.
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