Tove Lo Presents: Queen Of The Clouds, An Ambitious Romantic Pop Tragedy In 3 Acts
Swedish pop genius Tove Lo made herself known in the year 2014 when she released her wonderful debut record Queen Of The Clouds, which is actually concept album broken into 3 parts: “The Sex,” “The Love,” and “The Pain.” I would say that’s quite an ambitious start to one’s career, especially as an artist who was relatively unknown. So, you could understand my surprise when I decided to give the set an official listen. I was actually quite impressed. As far as modern pop records go, I believe Queen Of The Clouds was able to hold its own and stand out as a great model for what the mainstream market should be looking for. And she was able to stand out, for a good amount of time. Her collaboration with Alesso, “Heroes” was played all over the radio and “Talking Body” and “Habits (Stay High)” were nearly inescapable. But in cases like Charli XCX and her two major hits of the same year “Boom Clap” and “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea, it has become increasingly harder for up and coming pop artists to find and keep a place in the spotlight. In no way does that make Tove Lo any less than other pop artists, but I also wouldn’t say that her newfound underground status makes her better than them either. The other interesting thing about Queen Of The Clouds and each of Tove Lo’s follow-up records is that they each seem to have a specific theme, and appear to be broken up into parts. It makes for a unique listening experience and it allows you to really focus on each individual message that is trying to be conveyed. So, I went back and sat down with Queen Of The Clouds and realized that it was much deeper than I had originally thought. It’s actually a Romantic Pop Tragedy that has been divided into 3 parts of a doomed relationship, and I felt it would be fun to get deeper into the story act by act.