Lykke Li returns with sombre new single ‘No Hotel’

Lykke Li has shared her first new song in two years – listen to ‘No Hotel’ below.

The Swedish singer-songwriter’s new track is co-produced with longtime collaborator Björn Yttling, who worked with her on her first three albums ‘Youth Novels’, ‘Wounded Rhymes’ and ‘I Never Learn’.

‘No Hotel’ is a quiet, melancholic release, with Li’s gentle vocals reminiscing about a former love. The track opens with the lyrics “There’s no hotel / No cigarettes / And you’re still in love with someone else“.

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It follows Li’s 2020 return with new single ‘BRON’. The song, sung entirely in Swedish, was written by Li in collaboration with fellow Swedes, artist Little Jinder and composer Ludwig Göransson, most famous for his work with Childish Gambino.

It was the singer’s first new music since her ‘Still Sad Still Sexy’ EP in 2019, which served as an extension to her 2018 album ‘So Sad So Sexy’.

Last year, Li released a 10th-anniversary edition of her album ‘Wounded Rhymes’.

A digital reissue featured unheard demo versions of the album’s biggest hits including ‘Jerome’, ‘I Follow Rivers’ and ‘Youth Knows No Pain’, plus Tyler, the Creator’s remix of ‘I Follow Rivers’. The deluxe vinyl edition followed shortly after, with 16 tracks in total.

Li also put her own spin on Gloria Gaynor’s hit song, ‘I Will Survive’ in 2020. Her rendition is a haunting piano ballad that contrasts with the disco fever of the 1978 classic.

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Reviewing ‘Still Sad Still Sexy’ upon its release, NME wrote: “As its title suggests, this six-track EP is essentially an extension of Lykke Li’s excellent 2018 album ‘So Sad So Sexy’. Featuring two remixes, two tracks in an ‘alt version’ and a couple of new songs, it’s inevitably a bit of a ragbag collection.”