REVIEW: Lykke Li @ Paradise Rock Club 10/07

By Christian Jaeger

Indie pop singer-songwriter Lykke Li performed a sold-out show of her So Sad So Sexy world tour at the Paradise Rock Club on Sunday, October 7.

The Swedish artist–though her music is primarily in English–has a sound as unique as her stage presence. If one could describe Lykke Li’s style in a few words, it would be something like the title of her latest record, So Sad So Sexy.

Her fourth studio album, So Sad So Sexy is something brand new for the listener–a new Lykke Li. Straying from her calm and indie-alternative roots, she experiments with trap and R&B, producing her best work yet. Nonetheless, the soothing and melancholy elements of her prior records–Youth Novels, Wounded Rhymes, and I Never Learn–are all evident here.

Setting the stage for our headliner was TiRon & Ayomari, a Los Angeles rap and R&B duo with a killer band behind them and a knack for getting the party started. To be memorable, a lot is demanded from opening bands: they set the scene, show off something new, and can’t be boring for a second. TiRon & Ayomari succeeded with this very task; they were more than memorable.

After about a seven-song set, the talented group had created enough energy, leaving the audience on their toes waiting for the artist to enter the vicinity. The lights cut out, a fog filled the stage, and the hum of her title track began to play. Through the red and black lights that slowly began to alternate on stage, Lykke Li and company appeared.

You know it’s a bold move to open with the title track of the tour, but how could you not with a name as chic as “so sad so sexy.” Wearing her custom-designed So Sad So Sexy jacket over a black latex bodysuit, Lykke Li walked in ready to knock this one out of the park.

Following the title track came “No Rest for the Wicked,” a fan favorite from I Never Learn that almost immediately had the crowd singing. With her soulful, wonderfully distinct voice serenading the audience, she would soon delve into a lineup of songs from her most recent record.

The arrangement would include “two nights,” “hard rain,” “jaguars in the air,” and “bad woman,” the first two stealing the limelight. One of the strongest tracks from So Sad So Sexy, “two nights” would make the audience want to dance and cry–the perfect combination of sad and sexy. The other the opening song to the album, “hard rain” blends Lykke Li’s gorgeous vocals with her experimental electronics and powerful beats.

The artist would then begin to jumble all of her music, playing both new and old. When it was time to dance, she would perform “sex money feelings die” (this song for which the performers would share a choreographed dance), and when it was time to cry, she would perform “better alone.”

The song of the night would be “deep end,” a dance and sing-along among the crowd and one of So Sad So Sexy’s very best. Magic would take place during this song; energy was channeling from Lykke Li and her band to the audience and vice versa, the two entities fueling each other. It was here that Lykke Li could bring sexy to its boiling point.

Another highlight was “I Follow Rivers,” the artist’s biggest hit in her collection. With the energy building throughout the entirety of the night, fans who had earlier been holding back could finally let go; to add, the DJ remix of the conclusion only intensified everything that was already so prominent in the club.

Lykke Li ended her first set with “I Follow Rivers,” but soon returned with “last piece,” again balancing the sexy with the sad. The artist would interestingly close with a cover of Usher’s “U Got It Bad,” something she recently recorded for a Spotify session.

Backed by a phenomenal band that adds to the power on stage, Lykke Li can follow a weepy ballad with a trap-infused R&B number. She is the master of sad and sexy; her versatility is an exciting feat.

Lykke Li is at the top of her game, and that’s saying something because she’s been in the game for over a decade. The way that she carries herself on stage with such drama in her face and movement in her feet simply says that she’s had her fair share in the spotlight and her fifteen minutes is nowhere near over.