Tove Lo has always been an artist reluctant to accept others' labels, so she went ahead and created her own. Her first album on her own Pretty Swede imprint, Dirt Femme arrives nearly a decade after she wedded darkly danceable pop and frank confessions on the global hit "Habits." Years later, she's still thriving in that niche. "No One Dies from Love" announces that Sunshine Kitty's respite from heartache is over with pulsing melodrama ("No one dies from love/Guess I'll be the first") that reaffirms few artists can make ...
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Tove Lo has always been an artist reluctant to accept others' labels, so she went ahead and created her own. Her first album on her own Pretty Swede imprint, Dirt Femme arrives nearly a decade after she wedded darkly danceable pop and frank confessions on the global hit "Habits." Years later, she's still thriving in that niche. "No One Dies from Love" announces that Sunshine Kitty's respite from heartache is over with pulsing melodrama ("No one dies from love/Guess I'll be the first") that reaffirms few artists can make misery sound as seductive as Lo does. Even the album's happier songs have a dark side: On "True Romance," a love that's cozy and so intense it's worth killing for are one and the same. "2 Die 4," which beckons a lover on adventures, somehow makes a sample of Crazy Frog's cover of the classic electronic pop instrumental "Popcorn" sound moody. Dirt Femme's post-pandemic return to the club generates sparks with "Call on Me," an unapologetically physical piece of dance pop foreplay in the vein of "Body Talk," the pansexual flirtations of "Pineapple Slice," and "Kick in the Head," a slinky, funky number that breaks new ground. However, Lo stretches furthest and reaches highest with the songs that step off the dancefloor. As on Sunshine Kitty, she continues to branch out, albeit with a bit more focus. Her marriage and the ability to put the touring part of her career on hold for the first time in years during the COVID-19 pandemic let her reflect on her life, and her pensive state of mind is captured on highlights like "Suburbia." When Lo sings "I can't be no Stepford wife," it's as genuine as it is witty. She explores other vulnerabilities just as thoughtfully, setting her struggles with body issues to synth pop worthy of an '80s workout video on "Grapefruit" and exploring relationship doubts on "I'm to Blame," a power ballad in the lineage of her Grammy-nominated 2015 Ellie Goulding collaboration "Love Me Like You Do." Here and on "Cute & Cruel," which also features First Aid Kit, the raspiness and clarity within Lo's voice have never sounded finer. Ten years into her career, Lo is maturing but holding onto the most important parts of herself. Dirt Femme gives the confessional, sexual, and danceable sides of her music equal time and offers a fuller portrait of her music than we've heard before. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
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