Songs like Lykke Li: 10 tracks of heartbroken, drum-heavy pop

Songs like Lykke Li pair big, booming drums and a lot of echo with a small, aching voice and lyrics about love that hurts on purpose. Her appeal is that contrast: girl-group drama played slow and dark. Bat for Lashes' "Daniel," Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" and Sharon Van Etten's "Seventeen" carry the same mix of weight and exposure.

Lykke Li, the Swedish singer born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson, debuted in 2008 with Youth Novels, produced with Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and led by "Little Bit." Wounded Rhymes (2011) brought "I Follow Rivers" and "Sadness Is a Blessing." I Never Learn (2014) turned to slow, heavy ballads like "No Rest for the Wicked," so sad so sexy (2018) leaned toward hip-hop-influenced R&B production, and EYEYE (2022) was short and hushed.

What does Lykke Li sound like?

Most Lykke Li songs move at a walking pace or slower, and the rhythm does a lot of the talking. On Wounded Rhymes the drums are tribal and stomping, the handclaps and tambourines sit up front, and everything is washed in reverb, an obvious nod to 1960s girl-group records. Youth Novels is drier and more playful, built from sparse percussion, small keyboard parts and bass lines that leave space. I Never Learn strips things back to piano, strings and a choir-like wash of backing vocals.

Her voice is the constant: high, a little thin, often breathy, and pushed right to the edge of breaking on the big lines. She rarely belts. The themes stay close to one subject across five albums: devotion that borders on obsession, the pull back toward someone who's bad for you, loneliness after a breakup, and a kind of stubborn pride in being sad. The mood is bleak, but the songs are catchy, which is why they work on playlists and in film.

Songs like Lykke Li: 10 picks

1. The Ronettes, "Be My Baby" (1963). The famous boom, boom-boom, crack drum intro and a lead vocal drenched in echo. Wounded Rhymes borrows exactly that girl-group drama, heavy drums and reverb, then pushes it somewhere darker.
2. Peter Bjorn and John, "Young Folks" (2006). Björn Yttling's own band, with a whistled hook, bongos and a walking bass line that leaves plenty of room. The dry, playful minimalism is the sound of Youth Novels, which Yttling produced.
3. Robyn, "With Every Heartbeat" (2007). Swedish producer Kleerup builds strings and synths under a song about a slow, sad breakup. It's the same Stockholm ache as "Little Bit," pointed at the dancefloor.
4. Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" (2006). Mark Ronson's production pairs girl-group piano with a funeral-march feel and deep reverb. Heartbreak treated as grief is the exact mood of "Sadness Is a Blessing."
5. Fever Ray, "When I Grow Up" (2009). Karin Dreijer's solo debut, cold and hypnotic, over a rattling, percussive beat. For fans of the eerie, ritual side of Wounded Rhymes.
6. Bat for Lashes, "Daniel" (2009). From Two Suns, a song of longing over pounding drums and a dark synth swell. Natasha Khan's yearning, slightly theatrical vocal sits right next to "I Follow Rivers."
7. Lana Del Rey, "Summertime Sadness" (2012). Slow and cinematic, with love and death in the same chorus. It shares the lush, doomed romanticism of I Never Learn.
8. MØ, "Pilgrim" (2013). The Danish singer over a slow, heavy beat with a chant-like hook. Nordic gloom you can still move to, close to Lykke Li's stomp.
9. Banks, "Waiting Game" (2013). A few piano notes and deep bass under a close, breathy vocal. For the hushed, late-night side of so sad so sexy.
10. Sharon Van Etten, "Seventeen" (2019). A song to a younger self that builds from a pulsing synth to a raw, shouted climax. The willingness to let the voice crack matches Lykke Li's biggest ballads.

Lykke Li's trick is to make heartbreak sound like a ceremony: the drums march, and the voice refuses to hide the crack.

Lyra Voss songs that fit

Lyra Voss is a Reykjavík electropop act whose debut album, Solstice Light (2026), shares Lykke Li's northern melancholy and devotional streak, with brighter synths and less heartbreak.

1. Close match: Lyra Voss, "Low Orbit". Track thirteen (3:32) is about drifting away, with the narrator asking not to be called back down and a refrain, "I am beautiful and gone," that holds the distance without judging it. That cool, unresolved sadness is very Lykke Li; the difference is that there's no lover to blame.
2. Partial match: Lyra Voss, "Solstice Light". The title track and, at five minutes, the album's longest song treats the dark of winter as something that was holding the light all along. The hymn-like scale lines up with I Never Learn; the outcome is hopeful where Lykke Li's ballads stay wounded.
3. Partial match: Lyra Voss, "Midnight Algorithm". Track eight (3:16) has the narrator calling herself the prayer inside the machine. The devotion is there, but it's aimed at a question about identity rather than at another person.

More artists like Lykke Li

Beyond the ten songs, the names most often grouped with Lykke Li include Swedish peers The Knife, First Aid Kit, Robyn and Tove Lo, Norwegian singer AURORA, and English-language artists such as Florence + the Machine, Lorde, Feist, Lana Del Rey, Weyes Blood and Angel Olsen.

Pick by the album you play most. If it's Wounded Rhymes, go to Bat for Lashes, Fever Ray and MØ for the drums and the drama. If it's Youth Novels, Peter Bjorn and John and Feist share the lighter touch. If it's I Never Learn or EYEYE, Sharon Van Etten, Weyes Blood and Lana Del Rey carry the slow, heavy ballads.

Where to start

Start with "Be My Baby" to hear the drum blueprint, then "Young Folks" for the producer's own sound. Play "Back to Black" and "Daniel" back to back for the heartbreak at full scale, and finish with "Seventeen" and Lyra Voss's "Low Orbit." Our Scandinavian electropop guide maps the wider Nordic scene, and if Nordic art-pop is your lane, our songs like AURORA picks go further into it.

Key takeaways

1. Songs like Lykke Li pair booming, reverb-heavy drums with a small, aching voice and lyrics about love that hurts.
2. The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (1963) and Peter Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" (2006) explain where her sound comes from.
3. Bat for Lashes, Amy Winehouse, Fever Ray and Sharon Van Etten share her weight and exposure from different angles.
4. Lyra Voss's "Low Orbit" from Solstice Light (2026) is the closest roster match for her cool, unresolved sadness.

Lykke Li never made sadness sound small. The songs worth keeping next to hers give heartbreak the same big drums and the same refusal to look away.

FAQ

What genre is Lykke Li?

Lykke Li is a Swedish singer and songwriter usually filed under indie pop and art pop. Her records mix girl-group drums and reverb with dark, minimal production and very personal lyrics.

What artists are similar to Lykke Li?

Bat for Lashes, Fever Ray, The Knife, Robyn, MØ, Lana Del Rey, Florence + the Machine and Sharon Van Etten are among the closest. Each shares her mix of big drums or big ballads with an exposed, emotional vocal.

What Lykke Li song should I start with?

"I Follow Rivers" from Wounded Rhymes (2011) is the best-known entry point. "Little Bit" from Youth Novels (2008) shows her lighter, earlier side.

Who is Lyra Voss?

Lyra Voss is a McCandless Records act from Reykjavík, Iceland, making Scandinavian electropop. The debut album, Solstice Light, came out in 2026.