As much as I devoured every video, track, and alternate version of Lykke Li’s early career, I didn’t give her sophomore release much attention until a few months ago. At first listen, Wounded Rhymes felt sleek and generic in comparison to the playful DIY pop of Youth Novels.

But revisiting it, I see just how off my first impression was. True, it might be a little sleeker—there are a couple more synthesizers and Björn’s production isn’t quite as rough around the edges. And while it actually did chart in the Billboard Top 40 (the record peaked at 36), it’s still miles away from run of the mill Top 40 pop—in fact, Billboard classifies Ms. Li as an alternative act.

In this case, “alternative” might just be code for “has guitars and real drums.” Because as dancy as these tunes are, the atmosphere is still created with “real” instruments. There’s still plenty of hand percussion, hand claps, acoustic guitars, Farfisa organs, and other sonic tools to keep the purists happy.

“Youth Knows No Pain” kicks things off with an urgent beat and an organ, kicking into one of the danciest tracks of her career. “I Follow Rivers” employs a hefty cast of electronics, yet still feels as organic as anything on Youth Novels, thanks to an atmosphere of tambourines, organs, and electric guitars.

Overall, Wounded Rhymes is a poppier record, but it’s undercut with ballads like the romantic “Love Out of Lust” and the bleak “I Know Places,” with ends with a two-minute instrumental interlude that wouldn’t be out of place on an Explosions in the Sky record. There’s also a strong amount of Doo-wop Motown influence, which is most transparently homaged in “Unrequited Love.”

While the songs are all well crafted and masterfully delivered by Lykke Li’s smokey voice, the saving grace here is Björn Yttling who keeps the songs from turning into generic dancefloor hits, even though they would work perfectly in that context (as shown by this remix). Instead, he sticks to the idiosyncratic vision of the record, coating everything in a warm reverb that gives even the poppiest tracks a real-world weight.

And given that Lykke Li was (is? I need to look into that) still performing live versions with interesting instrumentation (on MTV no less), it’s safe to say that her own ethos was still in tact on Wounded Rhymes—even though I admit that I only revisited it because I found it for $7. And for that, I’m sorry. Forgive me, Lykke.