Blue Lips

Blue Lips
Studio album by Tove Lo
Released 17 November 2017 (2017-11-17)
Recorded October 2016 – July 2017
Genre
Length 44:24
Label Island
Producer
Tove Lo chronology
Lady Wood
(2016)		 Blue Lips
(2017)
Singles from Blue Lips
  1. "Disco Tits"
    Released: 7 September 2017
  2. "Bitches"
    Released: 7 June 2018

Blue Lips (alternatively titled Blue Lips (Lady Wood Phase II)[1] and stylised as BLUE LIPS [lady wood phase II]) is the third studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo. It was released on 17 November 2017 by Island Records.[2]

Blue Lips consists of two chapters, "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black", which collectively describe the "highs, lows and ultimate demise of a relationship".[3] Tove Lo considers it to be the second half of a two-piece concept album preceded by her previous studio album, Lady Wood, consisting of the chapters "Fairy Dust" and "Fire Fade", and released in 2016.[4] A short film to accompany the album is set to be released on 19 October, 2018.[5]

In addition to the return of songwriter-producers such as The Struts, Ali Payami and Joe Janiak, the album features new collaborations with Alex Hope and Lulou, among others. Daye Jack is the only featured artist on the album. Musically, the album has been described as "sharply conceived dance-pop"[6] and it is noted to follow the "hypnotizing electro-pop vein" of the preceding album.[7]

Background and recording

Tove Lo's previous album, Lady Wood, was released on 28 October 2016 to positive critical reviews and fair commercial success, with it eventually becoming her highest-charting album in the United States to date. In press interviews in support of the album's release, Tove Lo alluded to another album of thematically similar material slated for release the following year that was tentatively titled Lady Wood: Phase II.[8] In early 2017, Tove Lo began the Lady Wood Tour in further support of the album, and during press interviews she said she was working on new material to be included with the portion that was already recorded during the Lady Wood sessions.[9]

The Blue Lips track "Bitches", originally titled "What I Want for the Night (Bitches)", was previewed through Tove Lo's short film Fairy Dust in October 2016[10] and a live version was released through Spotify in November 2016.[11] Tove Lo also previewed the track "Struggle" (then titled "The Struggle") during her performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2017.[12]

During the months leading up to the album's release, Tove Lo said that thematically Blue Lips would be a "dramatic" and "highly emotional" sister to Lady Wood,[13] and it would have two contrasting chapters: "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black".[3] The album's official title was announced in conjunction with its lead single "Disco Tits" on 7 September 2017.[14] The album's artwork was released on Tove Lo's social media on 31 October 2017.

Release

Tove Lo began teasing the release of her third studio album since the release of Lady Wood in 2016. During January 2017 she suggested that the album would be released in the spring of that year,[15] but on 31 October 2017 she confirmed that Blue Lips would be officially released on 17 November 2017.[16] On the night of the album's release, Tove Lo hosted a release party concert at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, New York City.[17]

Singles

The lead single "Disco Tits" as released on 7 September 2017.[14] It reached #55 in Tove Lo's native Sweden, and topped the United States Dance Club Songs Chart.[18][19]

Tove Lo announced a remix of "Bitches" featuring ALMA, Charli XCX, Elliphant and Icona Pop as the second single from Blue Lips.[20] It was released on June 7, 2018.[21]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
DIY[23]
Financial Times[6]
Metro[24]
The Observer[25]
Pitchfork7.1/10[26]
Renowned for Sound[27]
Rolling Stone[28]

Blue Lips received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 based on six reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[22]

Year-end lists

Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Rolling Stone 20 Best Pop Albums of 2017 13 [29]
Melty Best Pop Albums of the Year
7

Track listing

Blue Lips[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Light Beams"
  • Tove Lo
  • Ludvig Söderberg
  • Jakob Jerlström
The Struts1:07
2."Disco Tits"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
  • Jerlström
The Struts3:43
3."Shedontknowbutsheknows"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
  • Jerlström
The Struts3:16
4."Shivering Gold"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
3:35
5."Don't Ask Don't Tell"
Payami3:46
6."Stranger"
  • Lo
  • Niklas Ljungfelt
  • Payami
Payami3:54
7."Bitches"
  • Lo
  • Payami
Payami2:17
8."Pitch Black"
0:53
9."Romantics" (featuring Daye Jack)
  • Lo
  • Jack
  • Söderberg
  • Jerlström
  • Loules
  • Gustmann
  • Lulou
  • Gustmann
3:31
10."Cycles"
The Struts3:28
11."Struggle"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
  • Jerlström
The Struts3:46
12."9th of October"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
  • Jerlström
The Struts3:25
13."Bad Days"
  • Lo
  • Gustav Weber Vernet
Vernet3:26
14."Hey You Got Drugs?"
Hope4:18
Total length:44:24

Notes

  • The album's chapter introductions, "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black", are stylised in all-caps—"LIGHT BEAMS" and "PITCH BLACK", respectively. In contrast, the songs are stylised in all-small letters with no punctuation marks. For example, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" appears as "dont ask dont tell", and "Disco Tits" is "disco tits".
  • "Disco Tits" features additional vocals by Fat Max Gsus.

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[32] 78
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[33] 86
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[34] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] 39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 15
US Billboard 200[37] 138

References

  1. ↑ "BLUE LIPS (lady wood phase II) by Tove Lo on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Blistein, Jon (5 October 2017). "Watch Tove Lo's Sexy Road Trip With a Puppet in 'Disco Tits' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 Feeny, Nolan (31 October 2016). "Tove Lo's Lady Wood short film previews new music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo on Going to Extremes: 'I'm Never as Happy as When I Lose Control'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Tove Lo on Twitter".
  6. 1 2 Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (17 November 2017). "Tove Lo: Blue Lips — hedonistic abandon, moody reflection". Financial Times. Retrieved 7 December 2017. (Subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ Jake Viswanath (November 17, 2017). "Tove Lo's New Album 'Blue Lips' Is An Uncensored Sequel to 'Lady Wood'". V.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Patrick (28 October 2016). "Swedish singer Tove Lo: 'Don't tell me what I can't say'". USA Today. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Gracie, Bianca (5 June 2017). "Governors Ball 2017: Tove Lo Talks 'Lady Wood' Album Sequel & Being Proud of Your Vagina". Fuse. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Feeney, Nolan (31 October 2016). "Tove Lo's Lady Wood short film previews new music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Spotify Singles by Tove Lo on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  12. ↑ Rettig, James (17 April 2017). "Watch Tove Lo Debut New Song "The Struggle" At Coachella". Stereogum. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  13. ↑ Ward, Kat (24 April 2017). "Swedish Pop Star Tove Lo on Rocking Coachella, Her Dream Collabs, and Flashing Her Fans". Paper. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  14. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (7 September 2017). "Tove Lo – "Disco Tits"". Stereogum. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Tove Lo is the no-holds-barred pop misfit we need right now". Time Out New York. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  16. ↑ "BLUE LIPS [lady wood phase II] will be out nov 17. can't wait to share with you". Instagram. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "#BLUELIPS release party Nov 17 @elsewherespace in BKLYN. Can't wait to enter into the phase II era with my NY babes. Tickets on sale now, see you on the dance floor on Friday". Twitter. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  18. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  20. ↑ Andrew Trendell (June 7, 2018). "Tove Lo unveils NSFW video for new remix of 'Bitches' featuring Charli XCX, ALMA, Icona Pop and Elliphant". NME. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  21. ↑ bitches - Single by Tove Lo, Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant & ALMA, 2018-06-07, retrieved 2018-06-07
  22. 1 2 "Reviews for Blue Lips by Tove Lo". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  23. ↑ Kheraj, Alim (17 November 2017). "Tove Lo – Blue Lips". DIY. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  24. ↑ Dawson, Amy (23 November 2017). "Review: Tove Lo". Metro. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  25. ↑ Joshi, Tara (19 November 2017). "Tove Lo: Blue Lips review – clubwise and candid". The Observer. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  26. ↑ Cook, Cameron (29 November 2017). "Tove Lo: Blue Lips". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  27. ↑ Scarsbrook, Rachael (24 November 2017). "Album Review: Tove Lo – BLUE LIPS (ladywood phase II)". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  28. ↑ Hermes, Will (20 November 2017). "Review: Tove Lo Continues Dark Lust Saga on 'Blue Lips'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  29. ↑ Spanos, Brittany; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Johnston, Maura; Levy, Joe; Hermes, Will; Sheffield, Rob. "20 Best Pop Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  30. ↑ Rajona, Wyzman (20 December 2017). "Taylor Swift, Loïc Nottet, Lorde... Les meilleurs albums pop de l'année" [Taylor Swift, Loïc Nottet, Lorde... The best pop albums of the year] (in French). Melty. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Tove Lo Confirms 11/17 Release Date For 'Blue Lips' LP". Broadway World. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  32. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  33. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tove Lo – Blue Lips %5BLady Wood Phase II%5D" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  34. ↑ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  35. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Tove Lo – Blue Lips %5BLady Wood Phase II%5D". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  36. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Tove Lo – Blue Lips %5BLady Wood Phase II%5D". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  37. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
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