In praise of Tove Lo

If anyone deserves to become an all-conquering, chart-smashing, globe-straddling, supersonic streak of lightning in 2014, it is Tove Lo. She is a 25-year-old pop singer from (where else?) Sweden, who is literally named after a cat. This cat:

To explain: The Swedish word for a Lynx is "Lo". A young Tove Nillson (for that is our heroine's true identity) fell in love with a Lynx in a Swedish zoo when she was three. As a result, her godmother started calling her Tove Lo. And the rest, as they say, is growing up to be a powerful and mature songwriter.

Tove penned her first song, "People Think I Am Crazy", when she was just 10. And, aside from an ill-fated spell in a rock band called Tremblebee (!) her music continues to be a Lena Dunham script-full of bad decisions, bad boyfriends and bad habits. Which is basically what pop music is all about, isn't it?

But if you need any further proof that Tove Lo is amazing, here are three proofs.






If you ever read the "get info" tab on iTunes, you'll know that Tove Lo wrote the first two songs. The last one, her solo single Out Of Mind, was described as "a proper 'star is born' moment" by big chief pop blog Popjustice when it came out late last year. And they weren't wrong: Melancholy, visceral, and anthemic, Out Of Mind was a calling card the size of your front door.

The song features on Tove Lo's Truth Serum EP, which comes out worldwide on Monday. The other tracks include the narcotics-vs-oxytocin themed Habits ("I gotta stay high all the time to keep you off my mind") and Not On Drugs ("I'm not on drugs, I'm just in love").

The latter, which popped up online this morning, is a whole bathtub full of brilliant, and immediately recognisable as a massive hit single. I know this sounds like over-excitable hyperbole from an idiot blogger but, for once, it's justified. Have a listen:


If this all leaves you very excited about Tove Lo (and it should) here's a long but informative interview on Popjustice and a link to her bilingual Twitter account. Fan va kul det var!!

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Pharrell's done another song with Daft Punk

Gust Of Wind, from Pharell's forthcoming solo album G I R L, is his third collaboration with Daft Punk in a row, and it's another bona-fide retro disco smash, complete with a vocodered hook from the Francophone Robots.

But let's face it, you don't care what I've got to say about it, you're just reaching for the "play" button. And who could blame you?

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Kanye West's career-spanning medley

Standing under a flickering light-bulb, Kanye West performed a medley of his biggest hits (and Mercy) on Seth Meyers freshly-minted US chat show last night. The a capella verse of Stronger is the obvious highlight, but the whole thing is exceptional.

It makes you imagine how good a Kanye Hits album would be. He could call it Yeezus Talks. Or The Kanye Westboro Baptist Church Hymnal and Psalmery. Or maybe even "Your Apartment Is Too Nice To Listen To Rap In."

Here's the performance in full, plus a couple of interview clips, in which Kanye talks about having synaesthesia, writing a sketch for SNL, and wanting to make marble sculptures (because why not?). Despite your expectations and preconceptions, he actually comes across as funny and personable and definitely not daft as a brush.

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And so it begins...

Rock's favourite whipping boys Coldplay are back with a new song which is, GASP, not entirely bollocks.

Plinky-plonky atmospherics and hushed vocals are the order of the day, as Chris Martin implores "In the darkness, 'fore the dawn / Something something the light on". Possibly. It's hard to tell. His lyrics are practically indecipherable, thanks to multi-layered harmonies and a squashy talkbox effect that pushes his vocals deep underwater.

The end result is a cross between Sigur Ros and Bon Iver, with an unexpected nod to Color Me Badd in the coda (ok, I made that last bit up).

Coldplay - Midnight

The song heralds Coldplay's forthcoming sixth album, about which we know very little. There's a potential clue in the timing of the video release - which the band specifically uploaded at midnight, Mongoloian time. We should find out more when they play the iTunes Festival at SXSW on 11 March.

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Haim: The gift that keeps on Gif-ing

We already knew that Haim were accomplished dancers - you may even remember this video of Este recreating Britney's routine for Ooops! I Did It Again - but their new video is on another level entirely.

Choreographed by Fatima Robinson (Aaliyah's Are You That Somebody, The Black Eyed Peas' My Humps), the video for If I Could Change Your Mind recalls the dance-centric videos we used to get in the 1990s. Alana, Este and Danielle aren't quite as pop-and-click perfect as, say, Janet Jackson - but nonetheless this is a serious rival to Beyonce's Single Ladies.

It is also the most Gif-able video of the year. Feast your eyes on these killer moves.

1) The finger-clicks




2) The hair flicks


3) The soft-shoe shuffle


4) The "just stepped out of a salon"


5) The synchronised handclap


6) The sucker punch

Gifs via Consequence of Sound, Oystermag and FuckYeahHaim)

Now you've digested all of that, here's the video in all it's hip-shaking glory.

Haim - If I Could Change Your Mind

UPDATE: The band were in Radio 1's Live Lounge this morning, where Este sang a particularly fruity version of Beyonce's XO. At this moment in time, Haim can literally do no wrong. Unless they kill Bambi.

Haim - XO

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Update: Now you can officially watch Beyonce's Brits performance on YouTube

And it looks like this.

Beyonce - XO

Good, huh?

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