Lykke Li I NEVER LEARN

There has always been something captivating about Swedish singer/songwriter Lykke Li. From the minimalist mix of icy electronics and playful indie pop of her 2008 debut Youth Novels to the weightier, percussive anthems on 2011's Wounded Rhymes, she has flexed her considerable creative muscle but never quite managed to dial in on a sound that would define her. She manages a tunefulness that aspires to great pop heights, yet retains the wintry austerity of her Nordic roots. On her third album, 2014's I Never Learn, she manages to meld both of those assets into a beautifully crafted set of lonesome break-up ballads. Like a snowbound version of Beck's Sea Change, the album gets sad and personal on somber tracks like "Love Me Like I'm Not Made of Stone" and "Sleeping Alone," which count among some of the sparer arrangements. Co-producing with longtime collaborator Bj?rn Yttling (of Peter Bj?rn and John), Li has built a true Wall of Sound around her songs, adding enough reverb to last the re