I’ve never been that attracted to conventional pop music. But when I first saw Swedish pop singer Lykke Li, I was instantly entranced.

I stumbled upon a Black Cab Session where she and two bandmates played, “I’m Good I’m Gone,” accompanied by a children’s accordion, hand percussion, and a megaphone.

Across the next few months, I found her on La Blogotheque, World Cafe, and other strongholds of the independent music scene. She enlisted the likes of Bon Iver and Robyn to join her in video performances.

Her songwriting isn’t too far from your typical radio-friendly fare, but there was a gleeful mischief to the way it was played that betrayed a DIY sensibility that usually escapes dance pop.

In fact, it was this child-like exuberance that made me a little disappointed when I instinctively grabbed this record as soon as I saw it. Because at first blush, it feels a little bit like a highly produced pop record in comparison to the boisterous experimentation of the live performances.

But that disappointment was very temporary. Because this isn’t actually that highly produced. Despite feeling all the world like a dance pop record, there are very few electronics on this record. Most of the instrumentation is performed on acoustic guitar, piano, and the occasional horn. Nearly every track is filled with hand percussion, bells, and other noisemakers. This production is thanks to the mastermind of Björn Yttling of Peter Björn and John, who manages to keep Youth Novels from being just another generic work of dance pop.

With a less passionate artist and a less inspired producer, this album easily could have ended up as a generic “also-ran” on the Top 40, doomed to be forgotten by everyone except “hits of yesterday and today” DJs.

Instead, Youth Novels is a rare piece of exuberant pop music that manages to be catchy and emotive. Dancy tracks like “Breaking It Up” and “Complaint Department” are offset by ballads like “Tonight” and arty tracks like “Melodies & Desires” and “My Love.”

And while Li’s career has gotten more Top 40ish as time has gone on, Youth Novels remains a brilliant work of pop enthusiasm