Video: Tove Lo - Not On Drugs

It's no secret that I love Tove Lo, the beat-wielding wild child of Swedish synthpop. Her Truth Serum EP is as a illy mixed cocktail of awesome - full of stomach-plunging drama and choruses so megalithic you couldn't destroy them with a truckload of Semtex.

So it's a crying shame that the video for that EP's standout track, Not On Drugs, is so undercooked. The weird editing, the weirder haircuts, the cheap effects and cheaper locations are a woeful disservice to the song's gutsy declaration of love ("There’s always the happy part before the broken heart," says Tove. "Come join me in my little love trip…")

It kind of comes together for the final chorus when someone sets off a powder paint grenade in Tove's face but it's too little, too late (this may be the first time someone has described a hand grenade as 'inadequately exciting for a pop video' but I call 'em like I see 'em).

Maybe just close your eyes and enjoy the song, which is a solid gold 9/10

Tove Lo - Not On Drugs

To counterbalance the disappointment of that Swedish video, here's another, better Swedish video, filmed at Stockholm Pride last weekend.

Yes, that's a genuine cop.


PS Tove Lo's album Queen Of The Clouds is out on 30 September in the US and "TBC" in the UK. :(

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