Seraphina Lotkhamnga on March 4th, 2011

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When Lykke Li’s artsy electro-pop landed stateside in 2008, those looking for new but accessible sounds immediately fell head over heels for the adorable Swedish singer-songwriter. Li was only 19 years old when she recorded her debut, “Youth Novel,” and as the title suggests, there was a thread of young hope stringing together songs that testified about being “a little bit in love” and the “melodies & desires” floating around with the mysterious trumpet in her head.

At 24, her quirkiness is borderline avant-garde on her new album, “Wounded Rhymes.” If the lyrics, “I’m your prostitute / You’re gonna get some” from her lead single “Get Some” aren’t an indication that Li is suddenly coming from a different and perhaps more disillusioned place, the drive on her album – ominous tribal beats, organ drenched in reverb and thick synth lines – serve as a siren.

The shy piano melodies that darted in and out of certainty on the last album are now replaced with audacious confidence. However, as much as she’s translated her woes into life lessons, the “wounds” are still open, and possibly still sting, as she sings “Sadness is my boyfriend” in the mid-tempo ballad. Although she opens the album declaring “Youth knows no pain,” her sophomore effort paints quite the picture of the ups and downs – a proud front vs. the unabashed weeping, the demands vs. the begging – all the qualities of a damaged lover. Luckily for us, Lykke Li’s dichotic songs sexily snarl at us through the pain.

||| Download: “Get Some”

||| Live: Lykke Li plays Monday at Amoeba Music, Wednesday at the El Rey Theatre and Thursday at the Skybar at the Mondrian.

Photo by Roger Deccker