[REVIEW] Tove Lo - Queen of The Clouds

By: Nicole Vasarevic

26-year-old Swedish singer Tove Nilsson, better known as Tove Lo, has finally released her debut single album on Sept. 30, and has outdone herself. Queen of The Clouds is the ultimate soundtrack to a reckless Saturday night out after a bad breakup with someone who you thought was your one true love.

Tove Lo has had a slow, yet promising rise in the music industry. Besides her popular solo work, some may recognize her from Icona Pop’s hit “I Love It” or the catchy intro to Disclosures “Latch” featuring Sam Smith.  These hits come as no surprise, as Tove Lo was bound for success at a young age. Starting out as a lyricist and writing for artists including Cher, Lo has earned her place in the music industry.

Queen of the Clouds chart-topping single “Habits (Stay High)” is the perfect walkthrough of what the album is about: love, heartbreak, and all the ill-advised ways of dealing with it.  Featuring a music video where Tove Lo is covering hickeys and making out with boys (and girls) in graffiti covered bathrooms, “Habits (Stay High)” channels the reckless energy that makes Lo’s songs so compelling.

Lo’s sweet and girlish voice will catch you off guard with her vulgar and almost self- destructive lyrics, and boy, the girl can belt out those high notes. In “Talking Body” she doesn’t sugar coat it by saying, “if you love me right, we fuck for life.”

It is this kind of energy that makes Tove Lo a shocking breath of fresh air in a time where pop music has been lacking in rawness and edge. By manipulating spacey beats beat that wash over you and possess you to do something reckless, Tove Lo explores the animalistic and archaic emotions that lie deep within us all.

Listening to Queen of The Clouds is a fantastic experience, but it may release your inner ex-boyfriend-calling, pool-hopping self. So be warned.