{"id":433377,"date":"2026-05-09T13:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/433377\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T13:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T13:06:13","slug":"lykke-li-creates-a-revenge-pop-opus-with-the-afterparty-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/433377\/","title":{"rendered":"Lykke Li Creates a Revenge-Pop Opus With ‘The Afterparty’: Album Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs a Swedish pop auteur who rose to prominence in the late \u201800s, Lykke Li<\/a> is probably sick to death of Robyn comparisons \u2014 but the only one worth making is to point out that by comparison, Li\u2019s work has been dramatically underrated. She was working a similar musical vein at around the same time (her debut album, \u201cYouth Novels,\u201d was released in 2008) and listening to her past work, it\u2019s clear that her influence has been strong, if more low-key influence. Derek Davies, the cofounder of her new label Neon Gold, <\/a>has said that her music was the major inspiration to launch a record company at all.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s been four years since her last album, and she\u2019s apparently positioning \u201cThe Afterparty\u201d as her last. If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s an auspicious, surgical strike of a swan song. Its nine tracks add up to just under 25 minutes, and any mystery about the lyrical subject matter can be dispersed with a glance at the song titles: \u201cNot Gon\u2019 Cry,\u201d \u201cFamous Last Words,\u201d \u201cSo Happy I Could Die,\u201d \u201cSick of Love,\u201d \u201cKnife in the Heart\u201d\u2026 get the picture? The cover is just as unsettling: Li with a stocking over her head, like a 1970s bankrobber or worse.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the cover certainly reflects the angry subject matter of many of the songs, it\u2019s a misleading entry to a remarkable and deeply layered album, although it goes by so quickly that it\u2019s easy to miss the details.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe Afterparty\u201d follows a similar strain of ambitious, electronic-based alternative pop as she has in the past, but here strings are nearly as prominent as the synthesizers, adding an organic lushness that offsets and contrasts with the sting of the lyrics \u2014 they\u2019re basically the lead instrument on several songs (and there\u2019s even a Max Richter sample on \u201cLucky Again\u201d). The constrast amplifies the sweet-sour combination has always been a hallmark of Li\u2019s voice, and here it takes a stronger edge than ever: The vengeful sting of the lyrics is offset by the bittersweet melodies, soaring choruses and orchestral flourishes \u2014 the stacked harmonies creating a beautiful but angry crowd of Lykkes.<\/p>\n

\n\tMost of the album is strong but \u201cAre You Happy Now\u201d is the winner \u2014 it starts off gently, with strings underpinning a percolating rhythm track and siren-like synth, but then it bursts open on the chorus as the beat kicking in and the strings turning into an \u201cI Will Survive\u201d-esque triumphant flourishes, implying a resilient that\u2019s also reflected in the album\u2019s closer, the ironically titled \u201cEuphoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIf this is really Li\u2019s final album \u2014\u00a0and we\u2019re hoping it isn\u2019t \u2014 she\u2019s certainly going out on a strong note.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a Swedish pop auteur who rose to prominence in the late \u201800s, Lykke Li is probably sick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,203251,409],"class_list":["post-433377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-lykke-li","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}