Growing up is something that, no matter how old they get, every person experiences.  With Artists however, it usually changes the way they look and/or sound in their music.  Lykke Li is no exception to this principle.  When she was only 19 she dropped her debut LP Youth Novels which painted Lykke as a “shy, shy, shy girl who cooed longingly”.  The latest album however displays a new dark, rage like “Pussy Power”.  Wounded Rhymes is sure to be a wakeup call for all those who have previously misconceived Li as a girly girl to be thrown into a separate group.  She is here to stand in the ring with the men.

Lykke flat-out told Pitchfork “I dove into the craziness and did things that maybe I would think twice about when I get older.  And I’m a really restless person; I’m tired of the way I sounded or looked yesterday.”  She also told Pitchfork that she wanted people to actually listen to what her message is instead of showing so much concern over her image; And honestly, isn’t that what music is all about???  Spreading your message and your story; that’s the reason people listen to music.  She claims that with the new edginess there is angriness about certain things in the world.

Her first single of the album Get Some is a truly unique swapping of roles.  In this song she sings “I’m your prostitute” but this is “not about being a sex prostitute.” Says Li “It’s about this power play in the war of the sexes.”  This seems to be just a glimpse of what her new album is all about. By saying “I’m your prostitute.” Lykke is actually saying “I’m the power.”  She got the idea while she was reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle “where there’s a woman that calls herself a mind prostitute and she goes into this man’s mind so he thinks that they are getting it on; he fantasizes about her.  They’re not doing it she’s just in his mind to steal information.” This would explain the looks of the video for this song as Lykke has created a world in which a cult of women lure you in and “bam!—she’s going to crush you.”

Lykke has been inspired by many great women including Anais Nin, Simone de Beauvoir, Edith Piaf, Patti Smith, and Gena Rowlands.  Her five favorite “badass women.” She says that she believes women are extremely powerful and strong but the sometimes give in to these insignificant events in life.  While she was in L.A. recording her new album to escape the winter she met a lady who she quotes “She’s open, hungry,  and still feels like the key to a good life is finding things you want to master.” This is obviously a mentality that Lykke believes in and follows.  I believe that we can expect a power house effect for women to come of Lykke Li’s Wounded Rhymes as well as her albums to come.