Tove Lo’s Estrus Era Finds the Swedish Pop Icon Still Searching for Answers
I’m going to put my hands up and admit something: since Tove Lo set up her own label, Pretty Swede Records, and stepped away from Universal Records, I’ve found myself considerably more invested in what she’s doing. Is the change in circumstances the reason I’ve somehow regrouped with Team Tove Lo? I can’t say for certain, but I suspect it has something to do with it.
My renewed enthusiasm really kicked in around 2022’s Dirt Femme”, and since then I’ve been completely onboard with the “Estrus” era. Tracks such as the spellbinding “des fleurs”, her collaboration with Stromae, and dancefloor stomper “DNH” have particularly caught me. Both showcase that wonderfully contradictory Tove Lo magic: euphoria sitting alongside melancholy, desire wrestling with doubt, and feelings that rarely arrive in neat little packages.
Then there’s the album opener, which wastes absolutely no time setting out the manifesto: “a lot of feelings, no solutions”. Quite frankly, that could be the Tove Lo philosophy in four words. From there, “I’m your girl right?” slips into pulsing electro-pop territory, with Tove confidently exploring desire, yearning and bedroom fantasies. Nobody could accuse her of being coy.
That honesty continues across “Estrus“. Revenge track “I’m the Cake” is a particularly delicious example, delivering Tove’s trademark combination of wit, sex and emotional complexity:
“you want the cake and eat it too. Let’s get experimental. Am I not enough for you. When I’m the f#cking cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake. You should be eating me, me, me, me, me, me, me”
It’s gloriously ridiculous and wonderfully Tove.
“Are we on a break” is another standout, bringing a deliciously disco-leaning, Robynesque energy to the album while tackling the decidedly messier business of relationships, jealousy and trying to work out whether something is actually over.
And then comes “Source of Life”, the newest focus track and perhaps the most intriguing curveball. A celebration of womanhood and thoughts around procreation, it certainly feels like another shade of Tove Lo emerging. Is the perennial party girl contemplating a new motherhood era?
And maybe that’s precisely why “Estrus” has pulled me back in so completely. Tove Lo isn’t pretending to have life figured out. She’s dancing through the confusion, singing about the complicated bits and turning the unanswered questions into irresistible pop. With the Estrus tour heading to Manchester and London in November before continuing across Europe, I’m very happy to report that my membership of Team Tove Lo is officially renewed — and apparently there’s no expiry date on it.
To celebrate “ESTRUS” join Tove on YouTube today at 11am PT/2pm ET to watch all of the “Estrus” visuals together.
The visual world of “Estrus” is such a huge part of this album for me and I want to experience it with you – come prepared. Tove
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