MOG

Last thursday, I had the privilege of seeing Lykke Li at Bowery Ballroom, along with another Swedish dove, Sarah Assbring's El Perro Del Mar (dog of the sea in Spanish).

The crowd was quaking with industry folk and just about every blog and music mag editor was in the house- intent to see if she lived up to her hype.

Indeed Lykke Li did. (FYI that's her first name; her full name is Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson). She bounded onstage in a well-tailored black jacket set and a huge snarled bundle of silver around her neck- (the type that would make Mr. T proud). Innocent yet full of energy- she almost knocked the crowd of their feet and startled them out of Thursday slumber. However, it was slightly awkward because the set before and after her were both introspective, acoustic, quiet affairs (Jose Gonzalez would have fit right in the line-up so you get the idea)....so her want to start a dance party (which she screamed into a large megaphone) seemed, well, a bit out of place. None of the attendees were big dance hall freaks (this was Bowery Ballroom on Thursday, not Studio B on Saturday) and so, while a couple solitary people threw their hands in the air, most just stood there and gazed.

That said, "Dance Dance Dance" and "Little Bit" were performed them faultlessly, and her voice was as velvety and pure on-stage as on record. She also introduced the US audience to some newer songs outside of her E.P. I'd see her again and I am curious to see how she will grow as an artist going forward. (www.myspace.com/lykkeli)

{Lykke Li finishes}

And then with El Perro Del Mar. Sarah Assbring was much more formal and sedate- but that allowed the audience to focus on the potency of her words. Each song has serious gravitas- Ms. Assbring opens up her soul in her songs, but often alludes to that soul being burned, or being 10 seconds from jumping out of the window....there's a sadness and desperation in each tune- a frailty in her voice that imbues each performance with pathos- but also makes you empathize with her. A muse, a lady, an artisan, Ms. Assbring's glass-half-empty-but-shining tenor isn't for everyone....especially the happy-go-lucky kind.....but if you can take the cynicism (or perhaps realism perhaps- have you read the paper lately?), you're in for a worth-while ride. www.myspace.com/elperrodelmar

(ps they are on tour through Canada and the West Coast, before hitting Europe this summer. catch em if you can).