Dirt Femme

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, shes still thriving in that niche. "No One Dies from Love" announces that Sunshine Kittys respite from heartache is over with pulsing melodrama ("No one dies from love/Guess Ill be the first") that reaffirms few artists can make misery sound as seductive as Lo does. Even the albums happier songs have a dark side: On "True Romance," a love thats cozy and so intense its worth killing for are one and the same. "2 Die 4," which beckons a lover on adventures, somehow makes a sample of Crazy Frogs cover of the classic electronic pop instrumental "Popcorn" sound moody. Dirt Femmes 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 cant be no Stepford wife," its 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 "Im 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 Los 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 weve heard before. ~ Heather Phares

ポップかつ官能的なスウェーデン人シンガーによる5作目。しなやかなエレクトロ・サウンドに乗せて、過激で扇情的なエンパワ・リリックを次々投下。ガーション・キングスレイの"Popcorn"やデッド・オア・アライヴの引用でアクセントを付けつつ、同郷ファースト・エイド・キットを迎えたフォーキーな新境地も開拓。〈私は目立ちたがりのアバズレ女〉と歌われる、チャンネル・トレスとの共演が最高に享楽的だ。
bounce (C)村上ひさし