User blog:Jaxswim/Best of 2016: Album 4

# 4: Tove Lo - Lady Wood



 Release Date: October 28 

 Peak Position (US Albums): #11   

General Review Tove Lo has a total mastery over the pop song. She had a great deal of features since her debut album, with artists such as Flume, Nick Jonas, and Years & Years, but nothing compares to Tove Lo, alone, doing Tove Lo. Lady Wood is clearly unashamed from its title and cover. Tove made her career off a song about getting high "all the time" and followed up with an extremely explicit hit in Talking Body - she has never been scared to present honesty. A billboard in LA advertised the record with the tagline "Beautifully dark. Brutally honest." No words could better describe this album. It is a cohesive work that displays Tove's most brash, bold, and beautiful traits. Lady Wood is a powerful album filled with perfect pop songs.

Track-By-Track

Best Track: Flashes Worst Track: Imaginary Friend Why You Should Buy This Album: Tove Lo owns pop music. Knowing her story, it's obvious she has a heavy hand in writing every single one of her songs, and this fact becomes more impressive when all the songs are a knockout punch. Lady Wood is easily on par with 2014's Queen of the Clouds, albeit in a different manner. Lady Wood is fearless with its lyrics, subject matter, and melodies - Tove knows who she is and what she wants, and Lady Wood is it.
 * Fairy Dust (Chapter I) - Despite being an intro/interlude, I think Fairy Dust is worth mentioning because it's a great aesthetic piece. Substance-related noises are heard with a sort of melodic computerized part, eventually segwaying perfectly into the first song. It's a short piece but sets the tone well.
 * Influence - The true opener of the album is all about substance abuse. "You know I'm under the influence/So don't trust every word I say", Tove Lo sings over a dark tropical house instrumental. Wiz Khalifa appears for a guest verse that leaves as soon as it comes. Overall, the track adds onto what the intro did and sets the tone and vibe well, all with a strong hook and production.
 * Lady Wood - Made for the dancefloor, the title track contains an irresistible hook and a pounding beat. "I want you hanging with me", Tove Lo repeats over during the breakdown. Though the titular line is a bit silly ("Yeah, you give me wood/Give me lady wood"), the song overall is an absolute highlight of the album with its dark landscapes combined with danceable choruses. This track keeps me coming back for more.
 * True Disaster - In my opinion, True Disaster is the obvious hit single from the album. It channels previous pop hits such as Style and Love Me Harder and presents a Tove Lo'd version, basically translating to a darker and grittier version (seems to be a common theme). This track is very crisp and clean production-wise, similar to 2014's Queen of the Clouds, but keeps the edginess running through Lady Wood as well.
 * Cool Girl - Inspired by a monologue from Gone Girl, Cool Girl is a very unique song for Tove. The chorus is no explosion, the verses are relatively anti-pop (as in, lowkey and lyric- rather than melody-heavy), and the concept is closer to irony than honesty. However, it is still clever and catchy, and introduced the album very well as its lead single. Cool Girl is a fun song-of-the-summer kind of track and it's one of my favorites on the album.
 * Vibes - The second collab, with singer-songwriter Joe Janiak, stands alone as the most chill and downtempo song on the album. Vibes lives up to its name, as the guitar-driven track is very easy to vibe to rather than dance or jam to. The chorus still manages to present a delectable melody for the listener's consumption. Vibes stands out for its difference from other songs on the album and showcases a softer side of the album.
 * Fire Fade (Chapter II) - Going into the second half of the album, another interlude is present for transition. Echoing voices and ambient noises contribute to the loss of ecstasy that the second half is meant to represent.
 * Don't Talk About It- This track carries one of the bigger pop moments on the album by the time the last chorus rolls around. The lyrics of this song flourish in their detailed ambiguity - we get a picture of a club(?) with rich/famous(?) people and strippers(?) and drugs(?)... which doesn't sound all that innovative but none of it is all that clear, except that we aren't allowed to talk about it. I think it's a very interesting track.
 * Imaginary Friend- During the end of this song, there is an ambient outro with a short spoken piece by Tove that is easily the highlight of this track. Not to say the rest is bad - just lacking a punch. The pre-chorus lyrics feel a bit too blunt as well: "Hate on this world 'cause reality sucks" isn't exactly poetic.
 * Keep It Simple- This song has an interesting transition from the slow, belt-y first verse & chorus to the house-ish beat that comes in right afterward, transforming a near ballad to an upbeat dancer. The bridge of this one is an absolute killer but the whole song is a great grower.
 * Flashes - Entranced by the vocal "guitar solo" and powerful final chorus, Flashes is normally the track listeners come off the album ready to praise. A few more listens reveal the mastery Tove shows in the verses and preceding choruses as well. Every piece of this song works together and it is very, very good. "What about you?", Tove Lo repeatedly asks a former lover who couldn't possibly understand the perils of riches and fame. This song is a near masterpiece.
 * WTF Love Is- The album closer is a good deal different from the general "vibe" of the album but doesn't break its flow. WTF Love Is has a somewhat less pop style to its rhythms and beats, which feel less straightforward and digestible. The subject matter, too, seems different than Tove's usual as she claims to strive for a picture perfect "love cliché". It's a very good album closer and has a great chorus.