# The Afterparty (Lykke Li album)
**The Afterparty** is the sixth studio album by the Swedish singer-songwriter [Lykke Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/lykke-li), released on May 8, 2026, through Neon Gold Records and announced as her final album.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) It is her first LP since *EYEYE* (2022), and her representatives confirmed to Pitchfork that it will indeed be her last.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) The record is a brief one: nine songs running 24 minutes, an orchestral pop set that deals with what Li has called "your lower self: your need for revenge, your shame, despair, all of it."[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist and ordinal | Sixth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) |
| Release date and labels | May 8, 2026, via Neon Gold Records / Futures[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) |
| Length | 9 tracks, 24 minutes; AllMusic lists 25:03[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/afterparty-mr0007005275) |
| Recording | Stockholm, with a 17-piece orchestra and "apocalyptic bongos"[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) |
| Lead single | "Lucky Again," a Max Richter-sampling track released February 13, 2026[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 75, based on 9 critic reviews (7 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative)[4](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-afterparty/lykke-li/critic-reviews) |
| Status | Purportedly her final album, confirmed by her representatives[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) |
## Announcement and release
The album was announced on February 13, 2026, together with its lead single, "Lucky Again," which samples the composer [Max Richter](https://www.edgepedia.org/max-richter).[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) At a listening party in Los Angeles, Li told the audience the project "is my sixth album, and maybe my final"; her representatives subsequently confirmed to Pitchfork that it would be her last.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) She told a similar audience that the record "was a motherfucker to make."[5](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lykke-li-afterparty-album-review-3944322)
The supporting itinerary took in both weekends of the Coachella festival in April 2026, a London show at Finsbury Park with [Wolf Alice](https://www.edgepedia.org/wolf-alice), and a September date at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City with Robyn, alongside festival dates in Brazil, Prague, and Slovakia.[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/)
## Recording and sound
Li recorded the album in Stockholm with a 17-piece orchestra and, in her own description, "apocalyptic bongos."[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) Apple Music's editorial notes frame the sound as her channeling "the confidence and audacity of 20th-century English rock stars," including string sections and what she called a reflection on her relationship with God.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252) She named [The Verve](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-verve)'s "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as a song she had obsessed over and aspired to, and pointed to "Knife in the Heart" as the track that carries that combination of lyrical darkness and musical uplift.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252)
The Swedish pop roots stayed in place. "I tried for this album to be a bit ABBA, if ABBA took a lot of LSD," Li said.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252) The electronic ballad "Sick of Love" began as a simple pop song; when it was not coming together, she asked herself what would happen if she "pretend[ed] that I'm Brian Eno" and worked with modular synths and an EBow, and rebuilt it that way.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252)
## Concept and lyrics
Li framed the album around what she called the opposite of the fashionable "higher self": "This is an album dealing with your lower self: your need for revenge, your shame, despair, all of it."[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/) Swedish critics heard the same tension. SVT's Tali da Silva described it as "an euphoric sound to depressive lyrics," and Aftonbladet's Håkan Steen called the songs "elegantly sad popbangers."[6](https://omni.se/lykke-lis-nya-album-later-annorlunda-blir-toppen/a/L46lqx) NME's Andrew Trendell wrote that the strings and beats capture the fear and heartache of a night turning toward dawn.[6](https://omni.se/lykke-lis-nya-album-later-annorlunda-blir-toppen/a/L46lqx)
Pitchfork's review placed the record at a dawn after the party, with everyone stumbling home bleary-eyed, riding out the comedown; the album's first lines run "eyes to the sky" followed by "no angels here tonight," and Li's lyrics reach for deliverance with lines such as "I'm a phoenix, baby / The flames no longer burn."[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lykke-li-the-afterparty/) The cinematic closer "Euphoria" carries the line "Player play your song, waste the night away."[5](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lykke-li-afterparty-album-review-3944322)
## Track listing
All nine tracks, as listed in the album announcement:[1](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/)
1. "Not Gon Cry"
2. "Happy Now"
3. "Lucky Again"
4. "Famous Last Words"
5. "Future Fear"
6. "So Happy I Could Die"
7. "Sick Of Love"
8. "Knife In The Heart"
9. "Euphoria"
The CD edition was released by Futures Music Group under catalog number 200, with a listed duration of 25:03 and credits including Björn Yttling, Jacob Olofsson, Justin Parker, and David Andrew Sitek.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/afterparty-mr0007005275)
## Reception
The album opened to largely favorable reviews. Metacritic assigned it a Metascore of 75 from nine critic reviews, with seven positive, two mixed, and none negative.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-afterparty/lykke-li/critic-reviews) The Skinny scored it 100 and called it "a serious contender for album of the year" despite its 24-minute running time; Variety gave it 91 and called it "a remarkable and deeply layered album."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-afterparty/lykke-li/critic-reviews) Swedish reviewers were broadly positive, with an average of 3.6 on a five-point scale across five reviews; NME's reviewer named "Knife in the Heart" the highlight and gave the album four of five.[6](https://omni.se/lykke-lis-nya-album-later-annorlunda-blir-toppen/a/L46lqx)
## References
1. [Lykke Li Details Final Album The Afterparty, Shares New Song, Pitchfork (February 13, 2026)](https://pitchfork.com/news/lykke-li-details-final-album-the-afterparty-shares-new-song/)
2. [The Afterparty – Album by Lykke Li, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-afterparty/1857952252)
3. [Afterparty – Lykke Li, Release Info, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/afterparty-mr0007005275)
4. [Critic Reviews for The Afterparty – Lykke Li, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-afterparty/lykke-li/critic-reviews)
5. [Lykke Li – 'The Afterparty' review, NME](https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/lykke-li-afterparty-album-review-3944322)
6. [Lykke Lis nya album låter annorlunda – blir toppen, Omni (May 8, 2026)](https://omni.se/lykke-lis-nya-album-later-annorlunda-blir-toppen/a/L46lqx)
7. [Lykke Li: The Afterparty Album Review, Pitchfork (May 20, 2026)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lykke-li-the-afterparty/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2020s › Studio albums by solo artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license