Tove Lo
Sunshine Kitty
Island
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I like Tove Lo. A lot. She seems to have this knack for pushing the boundaries, but in the gentlest and most accessible way possible. It’s almost like she has taken the “we need to get uncomfortable first in order to get comfortable” phrase and utilized it in the most authentic and inoffensive way throughout her music, something that most people probably aren’t even aware of. Not that I find what she is saying to be that confronting or even uncomfortable, but I am sure that for many in the wider community her openness with things like her sexuality and desire are somewhat shocking. But I digress.
Sunshine Kitty is Tove Lo’s fourth studio album and it is hard to believe that it has only been six-and-a-half short years since she delivered that banger of a hit “Habits (Stay High)” from her debut Queen Of The Clouds (2014). This album, which shows a more confident and wiser singer-songwriter coupled with much more vulnerability via her writing is undeniably Tove Lo in every sense.
She addresses navigating her bisexuality whilst dating in a heterosexually dominant world on songs like “Really Don’t Like You” with the Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue. She then shifts gears and teams up with Brit DJ Jax Jones on the club-worthy smash “Jacques” and then brings things right back down to sing about a love lost on the beautiful “Mateo.” Diversity it seems, is everything to Tove Lo.
As the singer herself explained, Sunshine Kitty is a play on “pussy power” and if one thing is ascertained on this album, it is that Lo is unafraid to display her vulnerability and the strength that lies in her unabashed openness on pretty much everything. This album is pop in some of its finest forms. Sure, some clichés exist. But with some delicious collaborations, club beats and great songwriting, Sunshine Kitty has achieved what it most probably set out to do: create a good album, maybe even a queer one at that.
Given that Tove Lo’s last two albums failed to reach the critical highs of her smash debut, this album is a welcome rejuvenation of sorts for one of pop’s newest and finest figures in recent years.
Notable Tracks: "Jacques" | “Mateo” | "Really Don’t Like You" | “Sweettalk My Heart”
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