barryorchestra presents Top 50 of 2019 - #14
#14 - Tove Lo - Anywhere U Go
Tove Lo is one of my favorite pop artists. I don’t care if her music gets mediocre reviews from critics, if it slaps for me, it slaps...and it does. I’ve followed her since she broke onto the scene with the brutally honest smash “Habits (Stay High)”, and since then, her music has progressed to a point where she has even less filter than she did on her debut. The difference is, this time, she’s happier. She knows what she wants, and she’s not taking any shit. She’s found someone that she loves, and in spite of the fact that she’s unsure how it all might work out, she is ready to lock in and throw her all into this relationship. There’s a new freedom in the chorus (particularly as the background vocals layer and build in the final refrain) that I haven’t found in much of her old albums. Considering all the ups and downs that she has documented before, it’s refreshing to hear her write a killer pop song about falling in love and devoting yourself to someone. No plot twists, no dark double meaning...just love. I’d also like to note that while she’s never artistically fallen off, “Sunshine Kitty” is tighter, sassier, and catchier than possibly anything she’s released yet. While she’s been known to be in the Max Martin writing camp, we finally get some Max Martin collaboration on this record, as well some features from pop legends like Kylie Minogue. Tove Lo continues to prove why she still sticks out in a sea of bland peers on this record. She is unabashedly and unapologetically herself.
Also, please watch the “Glad He’s Gone” music video. Madness!