Still Sad Still Sexy - Lykke Li: EP Review
is a Swedish pop singer who wowed in the indie and dream pop crowds in 2011 with her album Wounded Rhymes and again in 2014 with I Never Learn. She most recently dropped her 4th album So Sad So Sexy in 2018 and it was met with critical indifference and is widely considered to be the weakest of her records. The Still Sad Still Sexy EP is made up of songs recorded during the prior albums creative cycle as well as remixes and alternative versions of some of its tracks.
Review By Lavender:
I was a big fan of Lykke Li's first three records, in particular 2014's I Never Learn so when I first heard So Sad So Sexy I was a touch disappointed. While I ended up still enjoying the album more than most people and it narrowly missed my top 100 albums of the year list last year ultimately it is still my least favorite release of hers and if not for a recommendation of the two original tracks on this EP I probably would have skipped it, and in hindsight that may have been the right call.
Lets get the remixes and alternate versions out of the way first before we dive into the better tracks. The song Sex Money Feelings Die gets itself a remix that really doesn't change up the mood of the song at all and muddies the progression even further. On top of this it tacks a really underwhelming Lil Baby verse onto the end of it that doesn't really fit the mood of the song and does nothing to improve it. The album ends with two alternate versions of songs from So Sad So Sexy, the title track as well as Deep End. While I do somewhat enjoy both of these songs in their original formats these reworkings seem unnecessary as they really don't change much about how the tracks ultimately come out, and while they are decent listens while on I would never return to them over the original versions of the songs.
While the half of the EP that is remixes and reworkings didn't really thrill me, the original material here is an improvement for sure. Two Nights Part ii is the sequel to my favorite track on So Sad So Sexy which featured Amine. This version has instead tapped Ty Dolla $ign and Skrillex to add to production. One of these features goes over better than the other one and I promise it is the exact opposite of what you're thinking. Skrillex actually does a lot to make the track very impactful and the instrumental is genuinely my favorite part. While coming off as so breezy and skeletal there is a wild amount of depth to the songs instrumentation as the distant bells and whistles can be hard to pin down unless you're really paying attention. Ty on the other hand who is usually a dynamite feature gives a performance that is a little bit underwhelming, he just seems to be singing a really lazy refrain and not giving it his all vocally. Thankfully he takes up a small portion of the song and it ultimately ends up coming out decent.
Baby Doves is one of the original tracks here and the song that made me give this EP a try in the first place based on a great recommendation. It is both the best track on the EP by far, and would have been one of my favorites had it landed on So Sad So Sexy, which it easily could have given that it matches the albums sonic tone perfectly. It's a dark and sultry pop track with some distant keys and a rattling R&B flavored beat, The intimate singing is a great touch and the songs beautiful progression and sexy finale make it one of the best tracks to come out of this era of her career and nearly makes the existence of this entire EP worthwhile all on its own. Neon is the other original song here and I enjoy it too. While it fits very closely with everything else here sonically the vocals are a little bit brighter and more prominent. The only thing I don't like about this track is the repetition of "neon" in the hook and how old it gets by the end of the song, but aside from that it carries the vibe well.
The Still Sad Still Sexy EP is a continuation of the vibe Lykke set up on the album from which it gets its name and while it likely won't blow you away there is plenty here for those that saw the potential of what she was going for on her last record. With remixed but bearable versions of some of So Sad's best track as well as a few impressive originals the EP is really for fans of this sound to indulge with and is a nice way to end this era for Lykke, but definitely won't be anyone's musical highlight of the year and is likely to be forgotten pretty soon. 5/10
For more dreamy pop music and an excellent Lykke Li feature check out my review of Mark Ronson's Late Night Feelings here.
