Someone broke Lykke Li’s heart, and the results are an exquisite, if somewhat monochrome, self-portrait of pain and loneliness.
“I Never Learn” is the Swedish singer-songwriter’s third album, the last in her self-described trilogy. The whimsical Li of “Youth Novels” and the edgier sound of “Wounded Rhymes” are gone, replaced by raw pain and the swell of instrumentals.
The album dives headfirst into the fast-paced guitar strumming of its title track. “I Never Learn” establishes a clear theme as Li sings, “Lonely chimes, sing of pain/ There’s a storm, only love remains … I lie here like a starless lover/ I’ll die here as your phantom lover.”
“I Never Learn” is an exploration of heartbreak, refracted and recaptured by Li’s lyrics and vocals. This is what catharsis sounds like.
But the epic climaxes hit one after another and plateau into indistinguishability. The album desperately calls for some variance – “Just Like a Dream,” “Silverline” and “Never Gonna Love Again” bleed into one other with no break from the melancholy.
There’s a distinct ’80s power ballad texture running through much of the album, at times to its detriment. “Gunshot” starts with a verse haunted by twisted and surreal imagery: “I am longing for your poison/ Like a cancer for its prey/ Shot an arrow, in your harbor/ Where you waited in the rain.”
But the chorus switches to a major key, breaking into what sounds like Bon Jovi, or even ABBA. The verse loses its sting when followed by phrases like, “My heart cracked, really loved you bad,” which border on the blasé.
Known for the coy sweetness of her voice on past works, Li’s vocals are at their most powerful and expressive on this album. It’s a shame they’re often overwhelmed by chamber-echo effects and powerful instrumentals. Subsequently, the most beautiful songs are the most pared down, such as “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone,” in which Li’s voice is on full display.
“There is a war inside my core/ I hear it fight, I hear it roar,” she sings over the crackly guitar chords, sounding both fragile and violent. The song’s music video shows Li rotating in a medium shot, hair falling on her face. There’s something mesmerizing and unbearably intimate in the way her emotions play out. It’s the feeling that comes across through the song, too – that we’re glimpsing something deeply personal.
Another highlight of the album is “No Rest For the Wicked,” which balances lyricism of regret with sweeping, orchestral sound. Li has released a remix of the track featuring A$AP Rocky. The added verse, with lyrics such as “They say I switch clothes how I switch hoes,” add little to the original, but they do point to an edge that’s missing from Lykke Li’s latest endeavor.
The album could use some of her earlier, punchier sound, like the grand percussion and controversial lyrics of “Get Some,” or the summer bright simplicity of “Dance, Dance, Dance.” Either would have given the ballads on “I Never Learn” some room to breathe.
The conclusion of Li’s musical trilogy is enveloping – too much to take in one sitting. But put it on shuffle with her two older albums, and the tracks regain some of their depth.
– Natalie Chudnovsky