Released September 20, 2019
5 / 10
Favorites
Are U gonna tell her (feat. MC Zaac), Come Undone, Really don't like u (feat. Kylie Minogue)
Least favorites
Bad as the Boys (feat. ALMA), Jacques (with Jax Jones), Equally Lost (feat. Doja Cat)
Tove Lo's latest album, "Sunshine Kitty" (September 2019), explores relationships, romance and lust, alternating between light-heartedness and vulnerability with an air of desperation that she just can't shake off. "Sunshine Kitty" is quite the uncomfortable listen all in all. It feels both cold and warm, provocative and crowd-pleasing, trading in creative arrangements for catchy hooks - all under the watch of The Struts, Swedish production duo Jakob Jerlström and Ludvig Söderberg, who exacerbated the album's flaws instead of addressing them. And in an effort to expand beyond introspection, Tove Lo sought out shiny names to feature on her album; while some collaborations ignited some of the album's highlights (Are U gonna tell her, Really don't like u), others simply ought never to have seen the light of day. Despite Tove Lo's description of "Sunshine Kitty" as "happier" than her previous materials, "marked by a reclamation of confidence", the album is plagued by deep-rooted malaise. Even the more upbeat songs and the ones that flaunt sensual elements sound like they're compensating for some internalized hurt. In Stay Over she pleads for a lover to stay over for the night, speaking of "nights [they]'ll never forget" and "birthday kiss[es]" while sounding very distant, as if she completely dissociates and becomes a machine guided by an almost mechanical sexual instinct. From the start, we're unsure what turn the song will take as the disconnect between the atmosphere and the lyrical content grows. As soon as the shimmering pre-chorus yields in favor of a disappointing chorus, the gap between the intent and the finished product hits. Production is not glossy enough, the attack on the beat is brutal and all parts don't seem to connect on the same page - strike one for The Struts. Most likely the choice to make Are U gonna tell her - a very sexually-charged song lyric-wise - an anxiety-inducing tune that trades in its hypersexualisation potential for a riskier flavor of electro-pop and Brazilian funk fusion, is more deliberate. Set up around a relationship with a cheater, the tension is palpable, something's not quite right. The rotating synth arpeggios emphasize the eerie ambiance and even the grotesque "boom, boom, boom, boom, boom" passage plays in nicely with the instrumentals. On this track, Tove Lo manages to harness her anxiety and channel it to work for, not against, the sonics. The Swedish singer has prided herself on her rawness and authenticity in her art but it didn't stop her from trying a bit too hard to deliver top hit radio hits in "Sunshine Kitty". Bad as the Boys duet with rising Finnish singer ALMA features sickening chords, weird-ass lyrics ("Love hurts when you're fingering / But she kiss him") and resorting to lazy tropes - "Big girls cry" hasn't sounded as repetitive since Sia made a song out of it, years after Fergie taught us that in fact, big girls ~don't~ cry. It makes for the average summery pop song - and in fact alludes to the season explicitly - and if it wasn't for ALMA's warm distinct tone it wouldn't be worth a second of your time. Anywhere u go is another pursuit of Billboard's recognition. So much that it doesn't resemble Lo's style and stance in places - showcasing a chorus that could (should?) have been a Khalid creation. Still, no attempt to rise to the top of the charts is more blatant than the godawful Jacques. It boasts a certain type of electro-pop that's playing in an H&M near you. The song is sprinkled by crumbs of bad taste, from the line "je m'appelle Tove, get the show on the road, I'm down for the road, let's go" to the "ooh la la"s. While attempting to produce chart toppers "Sunshine Kitty" features sparse production, afraid to commit and pick a side, making way to atmospheric grey areas that leave the listener perplex. Glad He's Gone, the album's lead single about a friend's end of a toxic relationship, struggles to take off with an awkward trap beat and a very anticlimactic chorus. The song manages to convey the coldest of tropical vibes. Lyrically bland, vocally lackluster, the track feels unfinished - strike two for The Struts. In fact the bulk of "Sunshine Kitty", and more particularly tracks produced by The Struts (all but Jacques, Equally Lost and Really don't like u), leave a strange aftertaste - the song treatments are just not on par with their ambitions - strike three through twelve for The Struts. With all that said, the denser tracks are the stand-outs of the album. They don't suffer as much from their production as their sisters. Come Undone is the first track that conveys emotions the right way (and the eighth track of "Sunshine Kitty"). It makes the most of the grit in Lo's voice, uses gyrating muted vocals and a light ambient noise that brings up a rainy day to mind. It's not subtle but its roughness makes sense within the context of the song. It also manages to surprise with its bridge and the trap beats don't overcome the emotional delivery. Similarly the agitation of Really don't like u results in a simple but effective glittery pop song with none other than pop legend Kylie Minogue. With so many misses on the album those wins certainly feel grander than they ought to be on a more consistent piece. "Sunshine Kitty" has ideas and ambitions but it ran out of fuel before it could bring them to life.
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