Tove Lo - Queen of the Clouds, album review: 'a proper star'

★★★★☆
(Polydor)

Stockholm’s former Ebba Nilsson is yet another backroom songwriter pushed forwards. Some (Bruno Mars) have the magic, some (Pharrell Williams, I’d argue) do not: Tove Lo patently does. Already gracing the American Top 20, her debut album is a clattering, unashamedly adult, pop-dance epic, divided into three sections: Sex, Love and Pain. Handily, she’s very much a woman of the world, whether swearing her way through Moments or discussing the very obvious merits of younger boyfriends in Like ‘Em Young (“my guy’s gonna live out yours”) but she does gut-wrenching misery too on This Time Around. Taking her stylistic cue from fellow envelope-pushing Swedes Robyn and Lykke Li, Tove Lo’s grown-up approach ensures that for all the gloriously blatant choruses of Habits (Stay High) and My Gun she’s no pop poppet. Either way, she’s a proper star in the making.