Tove Lo‘s a freak, and that’s why we love her.
It’s only been a few months since the release of her fourth studio album Sunshine Kitty, but the Swedish singer-songwriter is already set on serving up something new. (Speaking of, did you know she co-wrote Girls Aloud‘s “Something New”? A God-tier songwriter, truly.)
To kick off the New Year, Tove recruited Billie Eilish‘s brother and collaborator FINNEAS to produce two new songs: a ballad called “Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak,” and the PornHub-ready, SEO-friendly bop, “Bikini Porn.” (I can already feel Google AdSense sliding into my inbox to tell me that this post is now banned for sexually explicit keywords. Thanks, Tove – you owe me approximately three pennies worth of income.)
Anyway, back to the bikinis and porn.
“Bikini porn (meaning tan lines, I made that up) is a sexy and weird song about letting go of your worries. I’m kinda making fun of myself in a way too. I sent the song to FINNEAS, who I admire so damn much, and asked if he would be down to produce it. He gave it the grit and weirdness and bopness it needed. Such an honor working with him!!” Tove says of the track.
“Grit and weirdness and bopness” are all accurate descriptors for the song, which feels as playful as Billie’s “bad guy,” Body Talk-era Robyn at her most sexually rambunctious, and maybe even some old-school Peaches. While it may not have the massive choruses of her earliest hits (she opts for a more monotone delivery these days, a la “Cool Girl” and “Disco Tits”), the song’s still got all the makings of a Tove track, with substance-fueled horniness, earworm melodies and an underlying melancholy – even when the inspiration comes from joy.
“Basically I wrote this song when I was in a happy place. I’m like ‘where am I getting my inspiration from right now?’, it’s kind of tricky for me to feel…and so, I was kind of sitting, smashing champagne in the session, it came about. And ‘Bikini porn’ to me actually means ‘tan lines’, so it’s the kind of reflecting on living in the sun, and the sort of weird life style in LA that can be so dark and so fun, kind of back and forth,” she went on to explain on Beats 1.
In short: this is what living in Los Angeles does to people. I absolutely believe it to be true.
“All I do is drink champagne all day, all day, all day / And I dance around my room naked, oh yeah, naked / Skinny dippin’ in the pool with me, with me, with me / Take a day from your life all day, one day, today…”
The music video, shot by Moni Haworth, encapsulates the blissful absurdity of the bop, filmed in Victorville and Hesperia, California. The plot is fairly straightforward: Tove wears bikinis, anywhere and everywhere, then proceeds to gyrate, shimmy, and shake her disco tits until the very end, even to the great annoyance of Billie’s brother, who’s apparently an Uber driver on the weekends.
Tove’s on a mission with her desert twerk tour, dancing in and out of bars, shops and dusty locales. She doesn’t seem to mind boldly trekking through town in her bathing suits, although I imagine she must still be finding sand in unholy places.
“This video was very fun and very bizarre to shoot. There was only seven of us in a van as the crew (as opposed to over 100 people in the ‘Glad He’s Gone’ video) driving around Victorville. Been a while since I did a run and gun shoot, I loved it! Moni is so great at that weird and gritty stuff I love. It’s sexual at times but also just funny and not every shot is meant to be flattering. I think this video is perfect for this song. Also big shout out to Finneas for doing the best cameo ever in this video!!” Tove says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KfEgyvp6iY
“Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak,” on the other hand, maneuvers into much more tender musical territory. It actually does sound like the middle ground between the signature whisper-soft vulnerability and ominousness of Billie’s music that FINNEAS helps to create, and Tove’s own brand of emotional turbulence. “You’re gonna get what you’re givin’ to me,” she warns over and over again.
Where this abrupt new kick-start to a potential new era will lead us next? Who knows, but I’d say it’s safe to pack a few bikinis for the trip.
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Photo credit: Island Records
