Youth Novels
Encyclopedia
Youth Novels is the debut album by Swedish recording artist Lykke Li
, released in Sweden on 30 January 2008 on her own label, the EMI
-distributed LL Recordings. It was entirely produced by Björn Yttling of Swedish indie rock
trio Peter Bjorn and John
and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén. The music video for the single "I'm Good, I'm Gone
" was featured as the Music Video of the Week on the US iTunes Store
for the week of 14 October 2008, while the song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was featured as the Single of the Week on the French and Australian iTunes Stores for the same week.
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 75, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Jon Lusk of BBC Music
raved that "this solid debut album lives up to the promising groundwork", adding that Li "sings her catchy pop confections in a breathy, girlish voice that falls somewhere between her angst-filled compatriot Stina Nordenstam
on effective anti-depressants and the candy-flavoured bleat of Altered Images
' Clare Grogan
." Alex Denney of Drowned in Sound
praised it as "a twinkle-toed debut that dares to suggest what others can only make tediously plain, and leaves us in the rarely-enjoyed position of actually wanting more." PopMatters
's Adrien Begrand called it "extraordinary" and wrote that "Lykke Li and Yttling have created a surprisingly stark-sounding album, an enticing blend of Robyn
's unpretentious dance-pop
and El Perro del Mar
's introspection and tenderness. For a record whose thematic center is the hormonally-enhanced, bipolar passion of one's teenage years, it's remarkably mature-sounding." The Times
critic Tom Gatti noted that Yttling gives Youth Novels the same treatment as to his band's song "Young Folks
", saying he "[weaves] Lykke Li's girlish, wistful songs of young love and loss into bright pocket symphonies." The Independent
s Simon Price believed that "[w]hen she sings, Lykke recalls Björk
at her least screechy and Saint Etienne
at their most reflective, but on the spoken word-interludes 'Melodies & Desires' and 'This Trumpet in My Head', she combines the sense of wonder of Jarvis Cocker
with the tear-choked restraint of The Shangri-Las
. Another quality consignment of delicious Scandipop." Becky Ross of This Is Fake DIY
described it as "a fragile, almost otherworldy album of incredible, strange and delicate beauty", as well as "a debut album that flies dangerously close to perfection."
In a review for The A.V. Club
, Vadim Rizov characterised Youth Novels as "all teasing and heartbreak, with production [...] that plays on empty spaces as much as well-chosen backing." He also commended Li for "adeptly [straddling] the line between instant gratification and minimalist smarts." Killian Fox of The Observer
commented that "[t]he coquettish charm of her voice, tinged with shyness, is brilliantly offset by Björn Yttling's skeletal productions, which create great pop momentum out of the slightest effects." He also concluded that "[t]he lyrics lack focus at times but this is a winning debut." Greg Cochrane from the NME
rated the album eight out of ten, calling it "[s]imple but sensational". K. Ross Hoffman of Allmusic wrote, "Brimming with ideas but understated, even tentative in executing them, and big on hooks but nervously intimate in presentation, Youth Novels is a curious, decidedly unorthodox but endearing record. Both youthful and novel—Li was twenty-one upon its release, which may explain both her occasional goofy vocal affectations and the hesitant freshness of her sound—it's hard to pigeonhole but refreshingly easy to enjoy." Joe Gross, writing for Spin
magazine, stated that "[h]er voice is mousy, the low end juicy, the melodies sketchy, the choruses huge", but felt that "[s]he should lose the spoken-word bits, though; they don't even work for her goddess Madonna
." Stephen M. Deusner from Paste
wrote that "Li writes hooks that come out of nowhere and verses that knot around sexual and emotional bruises, grafting pop-R&B
melodies onto spartan arrangements that suggest French yé-yé
attitude, American hip-hop
beats and Euro-dance
production." Tom Ewing from Pitchfork Media
remarked, "At its frequent best, the record manages to sketch out widescreen hit songs with a remarkable economy of means. At its more occasional worst, the tracks feel frustratingly underthought." Will Hermes from Rolling Stone
felt that Li's "frosty squeak is a limited instrument, but she works it, mixing adorable playground scats with spoken-word whispers and parched coos that barely sketch her sugary melodies. The arrangements also dress simple tunes in surprising ways, with odd choral bits and percolating percussion webs that should tease movement from even reluctant hips." Ben Urdang of musicOMH
stated that "[a] high standard is maintained throughout the possibly over-generous 14 tracks, but it's not quite enough. Too many of the songs pass by without grabbing you and making you love them. It's ultimately a bit ineffectual." The Guardian
s Maddy Costa claimed that the song "Tonight" "shows what she is capable of: underscored by a melancholy piano, she is darkly seductive", but "[a]fter that has passed, the album just gets increasingly cloying."
magazine ranked it number thirty-seven on its list of The 50 Best Albums of 2008. PopMatters named it the fortieth best album of 2008, and writer Michael Keefe commented that "[w]ith Youth Novels, Li has sifted her way down to the core elements of modern music and built her own enigmatic, yet highly accessible, vision for the future." Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound included the album at number forty-one on his list of the year's top fifty albums. Youth Novels appeared at number forty-four on NMEs Top 50 Albums of 2008. Pitchfork Media listed it at forty-five on its list of The 50 Best Albums of 2008, and the website's Jessica Suarez wrote that "[u]nlike a lot of young adults, [...] Li expertly uses melodies, desires, and just a few drum beats to try and express what she's feeling, and she invites us to follow along as she sorts through it all." Paste named it the forty-sixth album of the year and referred to Li as "the hook heavy, Euro-dance infused soul sister to friend El Perro del Mar's lo-fi
anthems."
The album earned Li five nominations for the 2009 Swedish Grammis
, including Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Live Act of the Year, Composer of the Year (with Yttling) and Lyricist of the Year. The same year, she won the P3 Guld award for Newcomer of the Year and was nominated for Pop Artist of the Year.
for the week of 7 February 2008, behind Johnny Logan & Friends
' The Irish Connection and Van Morrison
's Still on Top – The Greatest Hits. It spent twenty non-consecutive weeks altogether on the chart, including four re-entries in 2008 and one on 30 January 2009. Additionally, it became the ninetieth best-selling album of 2008 in Sweden. The album charted for a sole week in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, reaching numbers 112 and seventy-five, respectively. In continental Europe, Youth Novels reached number thirty-six in Norway, number fifty-six in Belgium, number seventy-five in the Netherlands and number 143 in France. It also peaked at number eighteen on Billboard
s Top Heatseekers
in the United States, and at number seven on Australia's similar Hitseekers Albums Chart
. As of February 2011, the album has sold 65,000 copies in the US.
Additional personnel for the international edition
Lykke Li
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...
, released in Sweden on 30 January 2008 on her own label, the EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
-distributed LL Recordings. It was entirely produced by Björn Yttling of Swedish indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
trio Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John
Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén. The music video for the single "I'm Good, I'm Gone
I'm Good, I'm Gone
"I'm Good, I'm Gone" is a song by Swedish recording artist Lykke Li from her debut album, Youth Novels. Produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén, it was released in Sweden on 14 January 2008 as the album's second single. The Black Kids remix of the song was...
" was featured as the Music Video of the Week on the US iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
for the week of 14 October 2008, while the song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was featured as the Single of the Week on the French and Australian iTunes Stores for the same week.
Critical reception
Youth Novels received general acclaim from music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 75, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Jon Lusk of BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
raved that "this solid debut album lives up to the promising groundwork", adding that Li "sings her catchy pop confections in a breathy, girlish voice that falls somewhere between her angst-filled compatriot Stina Nordenstam
Stina Nordenstam
Stina Nordenstam is a singer, songwriter and musician.-Career:Nordenstam's voice led to early comparisons with artists such as Rickie Lee Jones and Björk. Her early albums, Memories of a Colour and And She Closed Her Eyes were jazz-influenced with elements of alternative rock...
on effective anti-depressants and the candy-flavoured bleat of Altered Images
Altered Images
Altered Images were an early 1980s Scottish New Wave / post-punk band. Led by lead singer Clare Grogan, the band branched into mainstream pop music, and had a string of chart hits between 1981 and 1983.-Early career:...
' Clare Grogan
Clare Grogan
Clare Grogan is a Scottish actress and singer. She is sometimes credited as C. P. Grogan.-Early life:...
." Alex Denney of Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
praised it as "a twinkle-toed debut that dares to suggest what others can only make tediously plain, and leaves us in the rarely-enjoyed position of actually wanting more." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
's Adrien Begrand called it "extraordinary" and wrote that "Lykke Li and Yttling have created a surprisingly stark-sounding album, an enticing blend of Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
's unpretentious dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
and El Perro del Mar
El Perro del Mar
El Perro del Mar is a musical project that was founded in December 2003 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The sole member of El Perro del Mar, Sarah Assbring, initially started as an MP3/CD-R artist and released her first songs through Hybris Records...
's introspection and tenderness. For a record whose thematic center is the hormonally-enhanced, bipolar passion of one's teenage years, it's remarkably mature-sounding." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
critic Tom Gatti noted that Yttling gives Youth Novels the same treatment as to his band's song "Young Folks
Young Folks
"Young Folks" is the first single from Peter Bjorn and John's third album, Writer's Block . The single features Victoria Bergsman of The Concretes as a guest vocalist.-Reception:...
", saying he "[weaves] Lykke Li's girlish, wistful songs of young love and loss into bright pocket symphonies." The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s Simon Price believed that "[w]hen she sings, Lykke recalls Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
at her least screechy and Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne (band)
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
at their most reflective, but on the spoken word-interludes 'Melodies & Desires' and 'This Trumpet in My Head', she combines the sense of wonder of Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Branson Cocker is an English musician and frontman for the band Pulp. Through his work with the band, Cocker became a figurehead of the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s. Following Pulp's hiatus Cocker has led a successful solo career...
with the tear-choked restraint of The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
. Another quality consignment of delicious Scandipop." Becky Ross of This Is Fake DIY
This Is Fake DIY
This Is Fake DIY is a United Kingdom-based music webzine dedicated to alternative music. It is named after a song by the Scottish alternative rock group Bis....
described it as "a fragile, almost otherworldy album of incredible, strange and delicate beauty", as well as "a debut album that flies dangerously close to perfection."
In a review for The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, Vadim Rizov characterised Youth Novels as "all teasing and heartbreak, with production [...] that plays on empty spaces as much as well-chosen backing." He also commended Li for "adeptly [straddling] the line between instant gratification and minimalist smarts." Killian Fox of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
commented that "[t]he coquettish charm of her voice, tinged with shyness, is brilliantly offset by Björn Yttling's skeletal productions, which create great pop momentum out of the slightest effects." He also concluded that "[t]he lyrics lack focus at times but this is a winning debut." Greg Cochrane from the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
rated the album eight out of ten, calling it "[s]imple but sensational". K. Ross Hoffman of Allmusic wrote, "Brimming with ideas but understated, even tentative in executing them, and big on hooks but nervously intimate in presentation, Youth Novels is a curious, decidedly unorthodox but endearing record. Both youthful and novel—Li was twenty-one upon its release, which may explain both her occasional goofy vocal affectations and the hesitant freshness of her sound—it's hard to pigeonhole but refreshingly easy to enjoy." Joe Gross, writing for Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine, stated that "[h]er voice is mousy, the low end juicy, the melodies sketchy, the choruses huge", but felt that "[s]he should lose the spoken-word bits, though; they don't even work for her goddess Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
." Stephen M. Deusner from Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
wrote that "Li writes hooks that come out of nowhere and verses that knot around sexual and emotional bruises, grafting pop-R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
melodies onto spartan arrangements that suggest French yé-yé
Yé-yé
Yé-yé was a style of pop music that emerged from France, Québec and Spain in the early 1960s. The term "yé-yé" derived from "yeah! yeah!" The style expanded worldwide, due to the success of figures such as the French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg....
attitude, American hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
beats and Euro-dance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
production." Tom Ewing from Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
remarked, "At its frequent best, the record manages to sketch out widescreen hit songs with a remarkable economy of means. At its more occasional worst, the tracks feel frustratingly underthought." Will Hermes from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
felt that Li's "frosty squeak is a limited instrument, but she works it, mixing adorable playground scats with spoken-word whispers and parched coos that barely sketch her sugary melodies. The arrangements also dress simple tunes in surprising ways, with odd choral bits and percolating percussion webs that should tease movement from even reluctant hips." Ben Urdang of musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
stated that "[a] high standard is maintained throughout the possibly over-generous 14 tracks, but it's not quite enough. Too many of the songs pass by without grabbing you and making you love them. It's ultimately a bit ineffectual." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Maddy Costa claimed that the song "Tonight" "shows what she is capable of: underscored by a melancholy piano, she is darkly seductive", but "[a]fter that has passed, the album just gets increasingly cloying."
Accolades
Spin placed the album at number thirty-six on its list of The 40 Best Albums of 2008, with critic Barry Walters stating that "studio finesse from Björn Yttling [...] brings out both in an unconventionally stark yet nuanced debut that complements Li's pop instincts and complicates even her most straightforward serenades." QQ (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine ranked it number thirty-seven on its list of The 50 Best Albums of 2008. PopMatters named it the fortieth best album of 2008, and writer Michael Keefe commented that "[w]ith Youth Novels, Li has sifted her way down to the core elements of modern music and built her own enigmatic, yet highly accessible, vision for the future." Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound included the album at number forty-one on his list of the year's top fifty albums. Youth Novels appeared at number forty-four on NMEs Top 50 Albums of 2008. Pitchfork Media listed it at forty-five on its list of The 50 Best Albums of 2008, and the website's Jessica Suarez wrote that "[u]nlike a lot of young adults, [...] Li expertly uses melodies, desires, and just a few drum beats to try and express what she's feeling, and she invites us to follow along as she sorts through it all." Paste named it the forty-sixth album of the year and referred to Li as "the hook heavy, Euro-dance infused soul sister to friend El Perro del Mar's lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
anthems."
The album earned Li five nominations for the 2009 Swedish Grammis
Grammis
The Grammis Awards are the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards. The awards ceremony is generally held each year in February in Stockholm.The awards were established in 1969 and awarded until 1972 when they were cancelled....
, including Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Live Act of the Year, Composer of the Year (with Yttling) and Lyricist of the Year. The same year, she won the P3 Guld award for Newcomer of the Year and was nominated for Pop Artist of the Year.
Chart performance
In Li's native Sweden, Youth Novels debuted and peaked at number three on the Swedish Albums ChartSverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
for the week of 7 February 2008, behind Johnny Logan & Friends
Johnny Logan (singer)
Johnny Logan , is an Australian-born Irish singer and composer. He is regarded as "Mister Eurovision", having participated in the Eurovision Song Contest many times since the 1970s, and, since 1992, has been the most successful artist in Eurovision history.Logan has won the international contest on...
' The Irish Connection and Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's Still on Top – The Greatest Hits. It spent twenty non-consecutive weeks altogether on the chart, including four re-entries in 2008 and one on 30 January 2009. Additionally, it became the ninetieth best-selling album of 2008 in Sweden. The album charted for a sole week in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, reaching numbers 112 and seventy-five, respectively. In continental Europe, Youth Novels reached number thirty-six in Norway, number fifty-six in Belgium, number seventy-five in the Netherlands and number 143 in France. It also peaked at number eighteen on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers
Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
in the United States, and at number seven on Australia's similar Hitseekers Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. As of February 2011, the album has sold 65,000 copies in the US.
Track listing
Personnel
- Lykke Li – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Tommy Andersson – assistant engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Erik Arvinder – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
(tracks 5, 10) - Matt Azzarto – additional engineer
- Bill Emmons – additional engineer
- John ErikssonPeter Bjorn and JohnPeter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 2, 12); percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(tracks 2, 3, 4, 9, 11); cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
(track 6); mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
(track 11) - Andreas Forsman – violin (tracks 5, 10)
- Ellen Af Geijerstam – stylistWardrobe stylistA wardrobe stylist is the job title of someone who selects the clothing for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and any public appearances made by celebrities, models or other public figures...
- Tom Gloady – assistant engineer
- Janne Hansson – engineer
- Erik Holm – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
(tracks 5, 10) - Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(tracks 1, 2, 4, 5); fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(track 5) - Henrik Jonsson – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Neil Lipuma – assistant engineer (all tracks); tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
(track 9) - Mapei – backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(tracks 3, 5, 9, 10) - Lasse Mårtén – co-producer, engineer, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, additional engineer (all tracks); percussion (track 10) - Peter MorénPeter Bjorn and JohnPeter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
– backing vocals (tracks 5, 12) - Markus Ollikainen – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
(track 8)
- Marcus Palmqvist – photographer
- Ali Pirzadeh – hairBarberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
- Sandberg&Timonen – artworkCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
- Walter SearWalter SearWalter Edmond Sear was an American recording engineer, instrument importer, instrument designer, inventor, composer, tuba player, movie producer, synthesizer pioneer, and vintage recording equipment guru...
– thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
(tracks 1, 9, 12) - Lars SkoglundLaakso (band)Laakso is an indie pop band formed 2001 in Sweden. All their records have been produced by Jari Haapalainen.-Studio albums:*2003: I miss you - I'm pregnant*2005: My Gods*2007: Mother Am I Good Looking?*2007 Mämmilä Rock-EPs:*2003: Long Beach EP...
– drums (tracks 3, 5, 11); percussion (tracks 3, 9); hi-hatHi-hatA hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
(track 10) - Henrik Söderquist – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
(tracks 5, 10) - The Suzan – backing vocals (track 10)
- Elin Tordenlid – make-up
- Lissy TrullieLissy TrullieElizabeth "Lizzy" McChesney, better known by the stage name Lissy Trullie, is an American singer-songwriter and former model. She released her debut EP, Self-Taught Learner, in February 2009, and as of 2009, performs with a band named Lissy Trullie...
– backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10) - Dylan Von Wagner – backing vocals (track 5)
- Filip Wilén – managementTalent managerA talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
- Björn YttlingPeter Bjorn and JohnPeter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, engineer, mixing (all tracks); acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
(tracks 1–5, 7, 8, 12); celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
(tracks 1, 3, 7); piano (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9–12); synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
(tracks 1, 3, 5, 9, 10); vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
(track 1); backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 10, 12); snare percussion (track 2); electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(tracks 3, 5, 9, 10); percussion (tracks 3, 5, 6); drums (track 4); harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
(tracks 5, 7); string arrangementsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
(tracks 5, 10); keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
(track 6); foot stomp (track 7); rocksichordRocksichordThe Rock-Si-Chord is an electronic keyboard invented in 1967 to approximate the sound of the harpsichord...
(track 12) - Johan "Zilverzurfarn" Zachrisson – acoustic guitar, foot stomp (track 4)
Additional personnel for the international edition
- John Eriksson – percussion (track 12)
- Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson – flute (track 6)
- Lars Skoglund – cowbell (track 6); drums (track 12)
- Björn Yttling – electric bass, piano (tracks 6, 12); rocksichord, celesta, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, percussion (track 6); flute, trumpet (track 12)
Weekly charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
56 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
75 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
143 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
75 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
36 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
3 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
112 |
| US Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
18 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
| Australian Hitseekers Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
7 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Albums Chart | 90 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 30 January 2008 | LL Recordings EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| Ireland | 6 June 2008 | Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
| United Kingdom | 9 June 2008 | |
| Netherlands | 15 August 2008 | Warner Music Warner Music Group Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies... |
| United States | 19 August 2008 | Atlantic Records |
| Australia | 5 September 2008 | Warner Music |
| France | 29 September 2008 |
External links
- Youth Novels at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...