The latest Swedish indie-pop act to attempt a stateside crossover comes in the form of a pint-sized 22-year-old named Lykke Li (pronounced Lick-ee Lee). Admittedly, it’s easy to be cynical about every cute new female singer-songwriter flooding the genre. But Li’s Youth Novels is an exceptional debut album full of introspective—and totally sexual—lyrics set to a complementary background of sparse instrumentation and gentle beats. In songs like her breakthrough hit “Little Bit,” Li laments her vulnerability in a hapless relationship: “For you I keep my legs apart/And forget about my tainted heart/And I will never ever be the first to say it’s still a game over.” Li can hush a crowded room with her soft-spoken confessions. And just when the girl gets borderline drippy, she demonstrates her mean kazoo-playing skills.

Fri., Feb. 13, 8 p.m., 2009