Youth Novels - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Youth Novels received general acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, 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 gave Youth Novels the same treatment as to Peter Bjorn and John's song "Young Folks", saying he " Lykke Li's girlish, wistful songs of young love and loss into bright pocket symphonies."

The Independent's Simon Price opined that "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." 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", commending Li for "adeptly the line between instant gratification and minimalist smarts." Killian Fox of The Observer commented that "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", concluding that "he lyrics lack focus at times but this is a winning debut." Greg Cochrane of the NME rated the album eight out of ten, calling it "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 it's hard to pigeonhole but refreshingly easy to enjoy."

Joe Gross of Spin stated that "er voice is mousy, the low end juicy, the melodies sketchy, the choruses huge", but found that "he should lose the spoken-word bits, though; they don't even work for her goddess Madonna." Stephen M. Deusner of 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 of Pitchfork Media expressed, "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 of 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 remarked that " 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 "fter that has passed, the album just gets increasingly cloying."