BBC Music: Wounded Rhymes is another outstanding album, slightly better and definitely bigger than Youth Novels. Although there is a level of subtlety at work here far more sophisticated than most mainstream releases, the sound's sheer size is almost overwhelming.
Consequence Of Sound: Wounded Rhymes, though, offers a less atmospheric soundscape with more percussion alongside organs and frequent layered harmonies. This intensification of the sound mirrors her vocal performance perfectly - rendering Wounded Rhymes' tracks immediate and inescapable, especially visible on "Get Some"'s pounding African drums.
The Guardian: Lyrically, Li flits between aggressor (Get Some's provocative "I'm your prostitute, you gonna get some") and victim (all of Sadness Is a Blessing), while the closing Silent My Song features a line that sums up Li's own approach to songwriting: "You see pain like it is pleasure, like a work of art". The pain was worth it.
Spin: And then on follow-up "Get Some," for which [Björn] Yttling imports heaving tribal drums, Li is back on the prowl, tenaciously conflating herself with a prostitute as she writhes all over the track. The dual objectives -- weep for me, fear me -- collide throughout, creating a dicey, but gripping album. So much for the cutie-pie routine.
Wounded Rhymes is out now via Atlantic.
