Dirt Femme

by Tove Lo

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	10/14/2022
Label:	Pretty Swede
UPC:	0653738909222
Rank:	4102

Tracks

1. No One Dies From Love
2. Suburbia
3. 2 Die 4
4. True Romance
5. Grapefruit
6. Cute & Cruel
7. Call on Me
8. Attention Whore
9. Pineapple Slice
10. I'm to Blame
11. Kick in the Head
12. How Long

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tove Lo   Primary Artist
SG Lewis   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Dorian Electra   Primary Artist
Jax Jones   Primary Artist
First Aid Kit   Featured Artist
Channel Tres   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Ali Payami   Composer
Joel Little   Composer
Sheldon Young   Composer
Sibel Redzep   Composer
Oscar Goerres   Composer
Jacques Greene   Remix Engineer
Orlando Higginbottom   Composer
Jerome Castille   Composer
SG Lewis   Composer
Tove Lo   Composer,Creative Director,Executive Producer
Ludvig Soederberg   Composer,Executive Producer
Jakob Jerlstrom   Composer
Jax Jones   Remix Engineer
Samuel Burgess-Johnson   Design,Art Direction
Samuel Lewis   Composer
Tim Nelson   Composer
Gershon Kingsley   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
Charlie Twaddle   Creative Director
Elvira Anderfjaerd   Composer
Dorian Electra   Remix Engineer
Moni Haworth   Photography
Julius Petersson   A&R
Dua Lipa   Composer