Eyeye
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Eyeye
| type = studio
| artist = Lykke Li
| cover = Lykke Li - Eyeye.png
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2022|5|20|df=yes}}
| recorded = 2020–2021
| studio = Lykke Li's home studio
(Los Angeles, California)
| genre = {{hlist|Lo-fi|art pop|bedroom pop}}
| length = 33:33
| label = PIAS
| producer = {{hlist|Lykke Li|Björn Yttling|Rodaidh McDonald|Carter Lang}}
| prev_title = So Sad So Sexy
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Eyeye
| type = studio
| single1 = No Hotel
| single1date = 23 March 2022
| single2 = Highway to Your Heart
| single2date = 20 April 2022
}}
}}
Eyeye (pronounced "Eye") is the fifth studio album by Swedish singer Lykke Li, and her first since So Sad So Sexy (2018). Released on 20 May 2022,{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/eyeye/1613715815|title=Eyeye by Lykke Li|website=Apple Music|access-date=23 April 2022}} the album reunites Li with her longtime collaborator Björn Yttling, producer of her first three albums. It was preceded by the release of the singles "No Hotel" and "Highway to Your Heart".
Described as "an immersive audiovisual album", Theo Lindquist directed the visual component of the record, starring Li opposite Jeff Wilbusch. The seven minute-long visual loops were shot by cinematographer Eduard Grau on 16-millimeter film.{{cite web|url=https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/14107/lykke-li-taking-ayahuasca-and-her-dark-and-dirty-new-album-interview-eyeye-album|title=Lykke Li on Taking Ayahuasca and Her "Dark and Dirty" New Album|work=Another Magazine|last=Samways|first=Gemma|date=19 May 2022|access-date=22 May 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2022/03/24/lykke-li-eyeye-release-date-no-hotel|title=Lykke Li confirms new album details, hear new song "NO HOTEL"|work=The Fader|last=Renshaw|first=David|date=24 March 2022|access-date=22 May 2022}}
Background and recording
In a July 2019 interview with NME, Li stated: "I think, maybe to everyone's disappointment, I'm going to really scale it down and back and slow it down. [...] It'll be more like soul music. It'll still be sad, and still be sexy."{{Cite web|last=Trendell|first=Andrew|date=11 July 2019|title=Lykke Li tells us about working with Mark Ronson and Courtney Love, and "going out in style" with new material|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/lykke-li-mad-cool-2019-mezcal-mark-ronson-courtney-love-soulful-new-album-2527293|access-date=23 April 2022|website=NME}} In a March 2022 interview for Vogue, Li described the making of the album as "cathartic", with it "charting the emotional fallout from the end of a relationship" and approaching "love and heartbreak on a more conceptual level".{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/lykke-li-eyeye-interview|title=With Her New Album Eyeye, Lykke Li Is Closing the Chapter on Heartbreak|work=Vogue|last=Hess|first=Liam|date=25 March 2022|access-date=7 May 2022}}
The album was entirely recorded in Li's bedroom in Los Angeles. The vocals were recorded on a handheld $70 drum mic, with the album mixed to tape by Shawn Everett.
Release and promotion
"No Hotel" was released as the first single from the record on 23 March 2022. The album was announced a day later, alongside a trailer featuring a snippet of "Carousel".{{Cite web|last=Strauss|first=Matthew|date=24 March 2022|title=Lykke Li Announces New Album Eyeye|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-announces-new-album-eyeye/|access-date=23 April 2022|website=Pitchfork}} On 20 April, Li released the single "Highway to Your Heart".{{Cite web|last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=20 April 2022|title=Lykke Li Shares New Single "Highway To Your Heart": Listen|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2184032/lykke-li-highway-to-your-heart/music/|access-date=23 April 2022|website=Stereogum}}
Li embarked on an international tour in support of the album, which started on 26 September 2022 in San Diego.{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2022/03/lykke-li-eyeye-2022-tour/|title=Lykke Li Announces New Audiovisual Album EYEYE, Shares 2022 Tour Dates|work=Consequence|last=Rowley|first=Glenn|date=24 March 2022|access-date=22 May 2022}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = DIY
| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Hamilton-Peach|first=Chris|url=https://diymag.com/2022/05/18/lykke-li-eyeye-album-review|title=Lykke Li – EYEYE {{!}} Album Review|work=DIY Magazine|date=20 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
| rev2 = The Irish Times
| rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news|last=Clayton-Lea|first=Tony|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/lykke-li-eyeye-brilliant-pop-stripped-back-to-the-bare-bones-1.4879663|title=Lykke Li: Eyeye – Brilliant pop stripped back to the bare bones|newspaper=The Irish Times |date=20 May 2022|access-date=23 May 2022}}
| rev3 = The Line of Best Fit
| rev3score = 7/10{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/lykke-li-eyeye-album-review|title=EYEYE is Lykke Li's violently emotional fever dream|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Boote Bond|first=Tallulah|date=20 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
| rev4 = musicOMH
| rev4score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Murphy|first=John|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lykke-li-eyeye-review-3227724|title=Lykke Li – EYEYE {{!}} Album Reviews|work=MusicOMH|date=20 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
| rev5 = NME
| rev5score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Trendell|first=Andrew|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lykke-li-eyeye-review-3227724 |title=Lykke Li – 'EYEYE' review: intimate, lo-fi bedroom pop for lovers of sad sounds|work=NME|date=20 May 2022|access-date=23 May 2022}}
| rev6 = Pitchfork
| rev6score = 7.4/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lykke-li-eyeye/|title=Lykke Li: Eyeye Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Farrell|first=Margaret|date=23 May 2022|access-date=23 May 2022}}
| rev7 = The Telegraph
| rev7score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=French-Morris|first=Kate|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/dave-stewart-doffs-cap-greats-lykke-li-done-heartbreak-weeks/|title=Dave Stewart doffs his cap to the greats, Lykke Li is done with heartbreak – the week's best albums|website=The Telegraph|date=20 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
| rev8 = The Skinny
| rev8score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last=Bhadani|first=Anita|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/lykke-li-eyeye|title=Lykke Li album review: EYEYE|website=The Skinny|date=16 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
| rev9 = Slant
| rev9score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Lyons-Burt|first=Charles|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/lykke-li-eyeye-album-review/|title=Lykke Li Eyeye Review: A Cinematic Dive into the Depths of Heartbreak|website=Slant Magazine|date=24 May 2022|access-date=26 June 2022}}
}}
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/eyeye/lykke-li|title=EYEYE by Lykke Li Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=23 May 2022}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Eyeye track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| total_length = 33:33
| title1 = No Hotel
| writer1 = {{hlist|Li Zachrisson|Björn Yttling}}
| extra1 = {{hlist|Lykke Li|Yttling}}
| length1 = 2:26
| title2 = You Don't Go Away
| writer2 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Yttling}}
| extra2 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling}}
| length2 = 3:13
| title3 = Highway to Your Heart
| writer3 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Yttling}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling}}
| length3 = 3:59
| title4 = Happy Hurts
| writer4 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Sarah Aarons|Eli Weisfield|Rodaidh McDonald|Carter Lang}}
| extra4 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling|McDonald|Lang}}
| length4 = 4:56
| title5 = Carousel
| writer5 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Yttling}}
| extra5 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling}}
| length5 = 4:14
| title6 = 5D
| writer6 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Aarons|Weisfield|McDonald|Lang}}
| extra6 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling|McDonald|Lang}}
| length6 = 3:45
| title7 = Over
| writer7 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Yttling}}
| extra7 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling}}
| length7 = 3:44
| title8 = Ü&I
| writer8 = {{hlist|Zachrisson|Yttling}}
| extra8 = {{hlist|Li|Yttling}}
| length8 = 7:16
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Eyeye ! scope="col"| Chart (2022) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|UKDigital|63|date=20220527|rowheader=true|access-date=28 May 2022}} |
| {{album chart|UKIndependent|44|date=20220701|rowheader=true|access-date=2 July 2022}} |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Lykke Li}}
{{Authority control}}