Lykke Li’s show at the House of Blues on Friday night was originally slated for the ‘Dise, but the Swedish singer had little trouble filling the more cavernous venue to near capacity.
The larger settling was a fortunate turn for Li, whose star has continued its rise in the months since her latest Boston date was first announced. Adapting her elaborate stage set-up – a large backing band set on multiple dedicated platforms, intermingling with floor-to-ceiling black curtains – f0r the more intimate Comm. Ave. club would have been a challenge, to say the least.
The staging set the mood perfectly for Li’s lengthy set, which weaved in and out from hypnotic jams like the set-opening “Jerome” through more anthemic fare like “I Follow Rivers” and “Love Out of Lust,” while bangers like “Get Some” punched home her grittier dance-pop appeal. Li stuck largely to the darker, more sophisticated sounds of her new album, Wounded Rhymes, additionally exploring b-sides like “Paris Blue” and occasionally finding light respite in tracks from her 2008 debut, Youth Novels – “I’m Good, I’m Gone” was an early-set highlight, and the playful “Dance, Dance, Dance” kept the crowd moving in the wake of “I Follow Rivers.”
