Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li

Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li's second album, arrived in 2011 on Atlantic, and it's the sound of a Swedish singer growing claws. She wrote it in Los Angeles and cut it back home in Stockholm, with Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John producing again, just as he had on her debut, Youth Novels.

Built on booming drums, cavernous echo and that cool, unshakable voice, it's pop with a bruise on it. "Get Some" struts and taunts, and "I Follow Rivers" rolls in like a slow tide; it became the biggest hit of her career, landing inside the top five in several European countries. Four singles came off the record, and critics heard a clear step up from the debut.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.