Along with fellow Scandinavians Robyn and Annie, Sweden’s Lykke Li is one of the rare dance-pop ingénues to win the approval of the indie-music cognoscenti. Having burst upon the scene with her charming, if somewhat jejune 2008 debut LP, Youth Novels, the 25-year-old singer returned this year with an edgier, more ambitious sophomore effort, Wounded Rhymes, which has met with widespread critical acclaim. At a sold out 9:30 Club on Sunday night, Li proved a highly capable and confident live performer, delivering a slickly impressive set that showed her poised for mainstream success.

Opening with Wounded Rhymes‘ moody “Jerome,” Li took the stage amidst a dramatic haze of fog vapors and a dazzling array of strobe lights, swaying sensuously to the pulsing beats of her dual percussionists before picking up a pair of drumsticks and adding some cymbal crashes to the catchy Youth Novels standout, “I’m Good, I’m Gone”. Backed capably by a tight five-piece band, the singer displayed dynamic, well-choreographed showmanship, her gyrations and gesticulations hindered only by some ill-placed curtain-like stage props that occasionally got in her way.

The 18-song set mainly featured songs from the new record such as “I Follow Rivers”, though older favorites like “Dance, Dance, Dance” met with equal if not greater enthusiasm from the mostly twenty-something crowd. Both visually and sonically, the concert’s production values were almost astonishingly high, from the Crystal Castles-worthy light show to the impeccable sound engineering which made the music sound almost like a studio recording. Li’s slightly-accented, surprisingly robust vocals were in fine form, the slight rasp in her voice hardly noticeable until she apologized for it late in the set. During the showstopping dance-blues single “Get Some,” Li managed to channel a bit of PJ Harvey’s darkly sexual verve, brashly declaring “I’m your prostitute, you’re gonna get some” to an enraptured audience.