Lykke Li Until We Bleed (Ft. Kleerup)

Her wounded rhymes make massive sounds. With her smooth, winding, physique, Lykke Li came on stage surrounded by the ocean of black cloth that cascaded down from the top of the stage at Webster Hall. The stage setting allowed this Swedish beauty to show exactly what she meant by this album: a strong woman who won't put up with the male dominant record industry.

She is very clear on that point in the lyrics for "Get Some" -- "Don't pull your pants, before I go down. Don't turn away, this is my time. Don't make demands, I don't take none. Just say a prayer that it gone get done. Like the shotgun needs an outcome. I'm your prostitute, you goin' get some." She has commented in interviews regarding this song and its message, showing her stern stand as a woman in the record business not bending over anyone.

Her first album, Youth Novels, was a beautiful newborn that took a strong hold of our ears thanks to her honey voice and producers like Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén. Now she's come pouncing back, touring once again to promote her sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes.

Lykke Li entered the stage with a solid presence as indigo and deep green lights flashed all around her. The beginning chords for "Jerome" chimed out as the stage became invaded by dark pieces of cloth, creating a dark angelic effect -- much like her attire in the "I Follow Rivers" video.

Her dark and soothing sound pounded our eardrums and made our hips romantically sway a little all night. She truly has this sad sexiness, a timid seductress almost -- an oxymoron maybe, but true nonetheless. She seemed to effortlessly switch from melancholic love songs, like "Possibility," to beating the drums hard in "Dance Dance Dance" and dancing around the stage in her black platform heels.

Covering most of her new album, as well as some older songs of hers such as a loud and energetic "Little Bit," Lykke Li did not lose the audience's attention. I also got some amazing footage of "I Follow Rivers" and "Sadness is a Blessing" (keep in mind I am not the tallest in the crowd and it can get bumpy).

You can clearly see the flowing fabrics on the stage by clicking on the link for her opening number "Jerome" and "I Follow Rivers" above. The girl really delivers a message of sad love, a hurting pleasure. The feeling that, while at times so haunting, it also makes you smile and be so thankful that you once felt a love like the kind she sings of.

My absolute favorite part of the whole night was when she sang "Until We Bleed," because that song knows just how to bury itself under my skin. Hearing it live was like a religious experience. See some of the pictures I managed to snag here -- I was oh-so close.

With her dark eyes, clothes, and hair, Lykke Li lets her art out in song... and no one is immune to its infection.