Youth Novels

Youth Novels
Studio album by Lykke Li
Released 30 January 2008 (2008-01-30)
Recorded Atlantis Studio, Decibel Studios, Högalid Studio
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre
Length 44:49
Label LL
Producer
Lykke Li chronology
Youth Novels
(2008)		 Wounded Rhymes
(2011)
Singles from Youth Novels
  1. "Little Bit"
    Released: 24 September 2007
  2. "I'm Good, I'm Gone"
    Released: 14 January 2008
  3. "Breaking It Up"
    Released: 5 May 2008
  4. "Tonight"
    Released: 18 August 2008

Youth Novels is the debut studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Lykke Li. It was released on 30 January 2008 on her own label, the EMI-distributed LL Recordings. The album was entirely produced by Björn Yttling of Swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén. Youth Novels spawned four singles: "Little Bit", "I'm Good, I'm Gone", "Breaking It Up" and "Tonight".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The A.V. ClubB[6]
Drowned in Sound8/10[7]
The Guardian[8]
NME8/10[9]
Pitchfork7.8/10[10]
PopMatters[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin7/10[13]
The Times[14]

Youth Novels received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[4] Alex Denney of Drowned in Sound praised the album as "a twinkle-toed debut that dares to suggest what others can only make tediously plain, and leaves us in the rarely-enjoyed position of actually wanting more."[7] PopMatters's Adrien Begrand called it "extraordinary" and described it as "a surprisingly stark-sounding album, an enticing blend of Robyn's unpretentious dance-pop and El Perro del Mar's introspection and tenderness."[11] The Times critic Tom Gatti noted that Yttling gave Youth Novels the same treatment as to Peter Bjorn and John's song "Young Folks", stating that he "[weaves] Lykke Li's girlish, wistful songs of young love and loss into bright pocket symphonies."[14]

In a review for The A.V. Club, Vadim Rizov characterised Youth Novels as "all teasing and heartbreak, with production [...] that plays on empty spaces as much as well-chosen backing", commending Li for "adeptly [straddling] the line between instant gratification and minimalist smarts."[6] Killian Fox of The Observer commented that "[t]he coquettish charm of [Li's] voice, tinged with shyness, is brilliantly offset by Björn Yttling's skeletal productions, which create great pop momentum out of the slightest effects", concluding, "The lyrics lack focus at times but this is a winning debut."[15] Greg Cochrane of the NME called the album "[s]imple but sensational".[9] K. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic wrote, "Brimming with ideas but understated, even tentative in executing them, and big on hooks but nervously intimate in presentation, Youth Novels is a curious, decidedly unorthodox but endearing record."[5]

Joe Gross of Spin stated that "[Li's] voice is mousy, the low end juicy, the melodies sketchy, the choruses huge", but found that "[s]he should lose the spoken-word bits, though; they don't even work for her goddess Madonna."[13] Tom Ewing of Pitchfork expressed, "At its frequent best, the record manages to sketch out widescreen hit songs with a remarkable economy of means. At its more occasional worst, the tracks feel frustratingly underthought."[10] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone felt that Li's "frosty squeak is a limited instrument, but she works it, mixing adorable playground scats with spoken-word whispers and parched coos that barely sketch her sugary melodies. The arrangements also dress simple tunes in surprising ways, with odd choral bits and percolating percussion webs that should tease movement from even reluctant hips."[12] The Guardian's Maddy Costa opined that the song "Tonight" "shows what she is capable of: underscored by a melancholy piano, she is darkly seductive", but "[a]fter that has passed, the album just gets increasingly cloying."[8]

Accolades

Youth Novels earned Li five nominations for the 2009 Swedish Grammis, including Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Live Act of the Year, Composer of the Year (with Yttling) and Lyricist of the Year.[16] The same year, she won the P3 Guld award for Newcomer of the Year and was nominated for Pop Artist of the Year.[17]

Publication List Rank
Complex The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade[18] 54
Consequence of Sound The Top 100 Albums (2008)[19] 41
Drowned in Sound 50 Albums of 2008[20] 41
musicOMH Top 50 Best Albums of 2008[21] 30
NME Top 50 Albums of 2008[22] 44
Paste Top 50 Albums of 2008[23] 46
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2008[24] 45
PopMatters The Best Albums of 2008[25] 40
Q The 50 Best Albums of 2008[26] 37
Spin The 40 Best Albums of 2008[27] 36
Times, TheThe Times The 100 Best Pop Albums of the Noughties[28] 97
Village Voice, TheThe Village Voice Pazz & Jop 2008[29] 81

Commercial performance

In Li's native Sweden, Youth Novels debuted and peaked at number three on the Swedish Albums Chart for the week of 7 February 2008, behind Johnny Logan & Friends' The Irish Connection and Van Morrison's Still on Top – The Greatest Hits.[30] It spent 20 non-consecutive weeks altogether on the chart, including four re-entries in 2008 and one on 30 January 2009.[31] The album charted for a sole week in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, reaching numbers 112 and 75, respectively.[32][33]

In continental Europe, Youth Novels reached number 36 in Norway, number 56 in Belgium, number 75 in the Netherlands and number 143 in France.[34] It also peaked at number 18 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers in the United States,[35] and at number seven on the ARIA Hitseekers chart in Australia.[36] As of April 2014, the album had sold 106,000 copies in the United States.[37]

Track listing

All music composed by Lykke Li and Björn Yttling.

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Melodies & Desires"  
  • Li
  • Nils-Erik Sandberg
3:52
2."Dance, Dance, Dance"  Li3:41
3."I'm Good, I'm Gone"  
  • Li
  • Yttling
3:09
4."Let It Fall"  Li2:42
5."My Love"  Li4:36
6."Little Bit"  Li4:33
7."Hanging High"  Li4:07
8."This Trumpet in My Head"  
  • Li
  • Sandberg
2:36
9."Complaint Department"  Yttling4:32
10."Breaking It Up"  Li3:41
11."Time Flies"  Li3:21
12."Window Blues"  
  • Li
  • Sandberg
3:59

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Youth Novels.[40]

  • Lykke Li – vocals
  • Tommy Andersson – assistant engineering
  • Erik Arvinder – violin (tracks 5, 10)
  • Matt Azzarto – additional engineering
  • Bill Emmons – additional engineering
  • John Eriksson – percussion (tracks 2, 3, 4, 9, 11); drums (tracks 2, 12); cymbal (track 6); Mellotron (track 11)
  • Andreas Forsman – violin (tracks 5, 10)
  • Ellen Af Geijerstam – stylist
  • Tom Gloady – assistant engineering
  • Janne Hansson – engineering
  • Erik Holm – viola (tracks 5, 10)
  • Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson – saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5); flute (track 5)
  • Henrik Jonsson – mastering
  • Neil Lipuma – assistant engineering (all tracks); tambourine (track 9)
  • Mapei – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10)
  • Lasse Mårtén – additional engineering, co-production, engineering, mixing (all tracks); percussion (track 10)
  • Peter Morén – backing vocals (tracks 5, 12)
  • Markus Ollikainen – trumpet (track 8)
  • Marcus Palmqvist – photography
  • Ali Pirzadeh – hair
  • Sandberg&Timonen – artwork
  • Walter Sear – theremin (tracks 1, 9, 12)
  • Lars Skoglund – drums (tracks 3, 5, 11); percussion (tracks 3, 9); hi-hat (track 10)
  • Henrik Söderquist – cello (tracks 5, 10)
  • The Suzan – backing vocals (track 10)
  • Elin Tordenlid – make-up
  • Lissy Trullie – backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10)
  • Dylan Von Wagner – backing vocals (track 5)
  • Filip Wilén – management
  • Björn Yttling – engineering, mixing, production (all tracks); vibraphone (track 1); acoustic guitar (track 1–5, 7, 8, 12); synthesiser (tracks 1, 3, 5, 9, 10); celesta (tracks 1, 3, 7); piano (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9–12); backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 10, 12); snare percussion (track 2); percussion (tracks 3, 5, 6); electric bass (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10); drums (track 4); harpsichord (tracks 5, 7); string arrangements (tracks 5, 10); keyboards, mandolin (track 6); foot stomp (track 7); rocksichord (track 12)
  • Johan "Zilverzurfarn" Zachrisson – acoustic guitar, foot stomp (track 4)

Additional personnel for the international edition

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[34] 56
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[41] 75
French Albums (SNEP)[42] 143
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 75
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 112
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[35] 18
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[36] 7

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 90

Release history

Region Date Label Ref.
Sweden 30 January 2008 LL [45]
Ireland 6 June 2008 Atlantic [46]
United Kingdom 9 June 2008 [47]
Netherlands 15 August 2008 Warner [48]
United States 19 August 2008 Atlantic [49]
Australia 5 September 2008 Warner [50]
France 29 September 2008 [51]

References

  1. ↑ Monger, Timothy. "I Never Learn – Lykke Li". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Liedel, Kevin (3 May 2014). "Lykke Li: I Never Learn". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Marchese, David (10 January 2011). "EXCLUSIVE: New Lykke Li Song!". Spin. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Reviews for Youth Novels by Lykke Li". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Hoffman, K. Ross. "Youth Novels – Lykke Li". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 Rizov, Vadim (25 August 2008). "Lykke Li: Youth Novels". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. 1 2 Denney, Alex (5 June 2008). "Lykke Li – Youth Novels". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  8. 1 2 Costa, Maddy (30 May 2008). "Lykke Li, Youth Novels". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  9. 1 2 Cochrane, Greg (6 June 2008). "Lykke Li – Youth Novels". NME. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  10. 1 2 Ewing, Tom (3 June 2008). "Lykke Li: Youth Novels". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  11. 1 2 Begrand, Adrien (26 March 2008). "Lykke Li: Youth Novels". PopMatters. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 Hermes, Will (21 August 2008). "Youth Novels : Lykke Li". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  13. 1 2 Gross, Joe (18 August 2008). "Lykke Li, 'Youth Novels'". Spin. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  14. 1 2 Gatti, Tom (7 June 2008). "Lykke Li: Youth Novels". The Times. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  15. ↑ Fox, Killian (18 May 2008). "Reviews 11–25". The Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "De kan få en Grammis i år" [They can get a Grammis this year]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 26 November 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Alla vinnare och nominerade artister 2009" [All winners and nominees of 2009] (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio P3. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade". Complex. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  19. ↑ Roffman, Michael (17 December 2008). "CoS Year-End Report: The Top 100 Albums: #50 – #26". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  20. ↑ Adams, Sean (11 December 2008). "Drowned in Sound's 50 albums of 2008". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  21. ↑ "musicOMH's Top 50 Best Albums Of 2008: 30–21". musicOMH. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Albums & Tracks Of The Year". NME. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Signs of Life 2008: Best Music". Paste. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  24. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Pitchfork. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  25. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2008". PopMatters. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Q. January 2009. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "The 40 Best Albums of 2008". Spin. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  28. ↑ "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties". The Times. 21 November 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  29. ↑ "Pazz+Jop 2008: Albums Winners". The Village Voice. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  30. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Albums Top 60". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  31. 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com – Lykke Li – Youth Novels". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  32. 1 2 "Chart Log UK: 1994–2008 (DJ Steve L. – LZ Love)". Zobbel. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  33. 1 2 "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 24, 2008". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  34. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Lykke Li – Youth Novels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  35. 1 2 "Lykke Li – Chart history" Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums for Lykke Li. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  36. 1 2 "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 19th January 2009" (PDF). ARIA Charts (986): 21. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  37. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (22 April 2014). "Lykke Li's Wounded New Album: 'I Only Thought I Knew What Heartbreak Was Until This Record'". Billboard. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  38. ↑ "Youth Novels (Special Edition) by Lykke Li". iTunes Store US. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  39. ↑ "Youth Novels (Deluxe Edition) by Lykke Li". iTunes Store (GB). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  40. ↑ Youth Novels (UK CD liner notes). Lykke Li. Atlantic Records. 2008. 5144282482.
  41. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lykke Li – Youth Novels" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  42. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Lykke Li – Youth Novels". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  43. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Lykke Li – Youth Novels". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  44. ↑ "Årslista Album – År 2008". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  45. ↑ "Lykke Li : Youth Novel (CD)" (in Swedish). Ginza.se. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  46. ↑ "Youth Novels – Bjorn Yttling (CD)". HMV Ireland. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  47. ↑ "Lykke Li: Youth Novels". HMV. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  48. ↑ "Youth Novels, Lykke Li" (in Dutch). bol.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  49. ↑ "Youth Novels". Amazon.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  50. ↑ "Youth Novels – Lykke Li". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  51. ↑ "Youth Novels" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.