Music review: Lykke Li - I Never Learn

Fans of Lykke Li will know better than to expect an album of upbeat ballads from the Swedish singer. On her debut, Youth Novels (2008), Li was revealed as a vulnerable soul, one whose songwriting seemed to be more a process of confession and catharsis than an attempt to entertain the masses. Its successor, Wounded Rhymes (2011), confirmed her status as a poster girl for pain.

I Never Learn is more of the same, an album that chronicles, in agonising detail, Li’s heartache after a break-up. It’s an exercise in self-indulgence, of course, but the tracks are so beautifully melodic, and Li’s delivery so haunting, you feel obliged to withhold judgment until you have heard all nine.