It may seem like it’s been around for ages but with ‘Queen Of The Clouds’ finally hitting shelves in the UK, it’s time to send some more praise Tove Lo’s way. Her debut, which arrived in the US and Europe last autumn, is a devilishly catchy, frank, funny record and one that manages to balance some sweeping stylistic choices with a winning lack of lyrical pretension.
There’s little room for manoeuvre with this sort of thing anymore. For every clever, perceptive synth-pop album out there, there are 10 po-faced alternatives, dripping in atmospherics and lacking anything resembling a beating heart. ‘Queen Of The Clouds’ is packed with imperfections and all the better for them. “I can get a little drunk, I get into all the don’ts,” Lo sings on Moments. “But on good days, I am charming as fuck.”
Her candour and charisma work hand in hand, with each warts-and-all admission delivered with knowing confidence and accompanied by inventive hooks. She leaps from love to lust, takes a few wrong turns, pukes in her bathtub and waxes celebratory about meeting someone who fits, all while spinning choruses that will bury themselves in your brain.
Talking Body slinks and Timebomb is as ebullient as its crashing cymbals suggest, but it’s when things get a little dramatic that Lo really comes to life. It’s here that she pierces convention with wry asides and personal details, shoving Moments, Habits (Stay High) and the wonderful Not On Drugs to new heights.
The pace isn’t quite maintained across the piece and ‘Queen Of The Clouds’ is noticeably slow to start - My Gun and Like 'Em Young are fine, yet it's Talking Body that gets the ball rolling - but once she’s hit her stride, Lo is hard to stop. This is very much a case of better late than never.
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