Lykke Li preview

Lykke Li
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Saturday, October 25, 2008

It would be devious to downplay the disparity between Lykke Li’s concerts and albums. The difference cannot be overstated.

Li’s Little Bit (LL/EMI) EP, released Stateside in time for a spring tour with El Perro Del Mar, depicted the diminuitive Swede as Björk-lite — prancing with fairies and gnomes in some hidden garden and occasionally sneaking off for sex in the bushes. When she landed on the Schubas stage for her opening set, however, she was all sweat, prowling the stage and exploding in bouts of pogo fits. The EP’s title track and “Dance, Dance, Dance” went from humble pleas to hedonistic throwdowns with shocking success.

The Youth Novels album, made available in summer, flicks the “off” switch again. There’s a subtle grandiosity beneath “My Love” and Spector-esque world of possibilities in “Everybody But Me,” though neither will get you on your seat. Opener “Melodies And Desires” is ominous at best, and “Let It Fall” might as well cue a Carnival Cruise ad. The stage beast is confined to “Complaint Department” and “Breaking It Up,” a one-two arriving late in the match. At least it’s no secret why she has so much energy on the road.

Friendly Fires open.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly