To Love Tove Lo ...

You'll not have heard her name in any of the ordinary "look out for" lists of 2014, but Tove Lo is definitely a name that you shouldn't remember quickly. The Swedish songstress has a sound that, whilst similar to many other names int he pop industry, still has that wow factor that the world just can't get enough of at the moment ... and her latest track, Out Of Mind, is really very relatable.
It's very simple to start. Not much more than some organic percussion and a vocal, but this is the premise for something vast in reach to latch on - she croons her way to the 'drop', which sweetly brings us onto the pop sensation which is the chorus. You'll notice likenesses to Foxes, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Lea Michele, and even Lorde from time to time ... but there's still a resonating niggle that says that this is just slightly different. The booming of the chorus is absolutely sensational up against the daintiness of the verses, and in that respect, she is second to none.
The subject on offer here is heartbreak - something that we've all known and heard before. However, it's not quite like she has gone to the bottle to forget her woes, nor has she sunken into a sultry piano piece to string together a tear-sodden single ... instead, she really has become a woman, possessed by her troubles, and more than capable of showing off that she is strong, independent, and in deep control of herself - an impressive feat.
The video, unfortunately, is the one piece that lets this down a tad.We understand the concept, in which she is being physically chased by demons in this heartbreaking and outrageously hard break-up she must have been through, but the way in which it has been attacked, comes across as a little bit cheap. The most intense parts of the song, are countered by the least aesthetic pieces of the video, in which Tove happens to be standing in a blank room, and her colours have been changed to black and white. The demons from which she is running, are not made from particularly impressive CGI techniques, and just, all in all, with a little but more time and cash, we feel this could have done the song a lot more justice. Without the video, this is absolute pop genius, but with it ... it's just not the same.
Paul.