I Never Learn
Although her first two studio albums had moments of girl-group sass, Swedish-born singer/songwriter Lykke Li has always been most powerful when the tempos come down. 2010’s *Wounded Rhymes* featured a mascara-stained ‘60s-influenced charmer called “Sadness is a Blessing”; Li’s third album, *I Never Learn*, hones this gift for wallowing with a collection of miserablist dream pop. Stacked with Wall of Sound strings, lean songwriting, and confessional drama, Li’s doleful highlights (“No Rest for the Wicked,” “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone,” “Never Gonna Love Again”) are carefully constructed ballads that float along in a melancholy, reverb-washed haze. When she fades out with the mournful “Sleeping Alone,” *I Never Learn* emerges as a powerful artistic achievement, every bit as lonely as it is lovely.
Inspired by a cross-continental move following a painful breakup, Lykke Li's ballad-heavy I Never Learn is for the times when heartbreak is so life-affirming that you want to share the feeling with the world.
It’s probably known by now what fueled Swedish songstress Lykke Li on her latest full-length, I Never Learn, the final…
The final part of a thematic trilogy that began with 2008 debut Youth Novels, I Never Learn takes Lykke Li’s work a shade darker and a notch glummer – which, when you consider the exposed emotions in past album highlights like Sadness is a Blessing, is really saying something
Lykke Li has never been a typical pop star, but with her third album, it seems clear that being one isn't something the Swedish singer wants, anyway.
Lykke Li returns with what is reportedly the third in a loose trilogy including 2008's Youth Novels and 2011's Wounded Rhymes.
<p>The Swedish singer-songwriter's tales of love gone wrong are relentess but wonderfully realised, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>
I Never Learn finds Li completely turning her back on the glossy pop she was edging toward on previous albums.
Review Of I Never Learn by Lykke Li, the album comes out on May 5th via LL/Atlantic records. The first single from I never Learn is "No rest for the wicked"
Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li seems to be gearing up for a big commercial push – but this album is a bit too one-note to be a real triumph, writes <strong>Michael Hann</strong>