Dirt Femme

Dirt Femme is the fifth studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo. It was her first to be independently released by her own label, Pretty Swede Records (under Mtheory), on 14 October 2022.[2] The first two singles, "How Long" and "No One Dies from Love", had been released earlier that year. The first was featured on the soundtrack to the second season of the American TV series Euphoria. She collaborates with artists First Aid Kit, SG Lewis, and Channel Tres. An "extended cut" edition was released on August 11, 2023, promoted by the singles "Borderline", "I Like U", and "Elevator Eyes".[3]

Dirt Femme
A woman stands with her buttocks exposed, wearing a silver scorpion tail on her back, with the letters "D I R T F E M M E"
Studio album by
Released14 October 2022 (2022-10-14)
GenreDance-pop[1]
Length39:40
Label
  • Pretty Swede
  • mtheory
Producer
Tove Lo chronology
Sunshine Kitty
(2019)
Dirt Femme
(2022)
Singles from Dirt Femme
  1. "How Long"
    Released: 26 January 2022
  2. "No One Dies from Love"
    Released: 4 May 2022
  3. "2 Die 4"
    Released: 27 July 2022
  4. "Grapefruit"
    Released: 12 October 2022
  5. "Borderline"
    Released: 10 February 2023
  6. "I like U"
    Released: 31 May 2023
  7. "Elevator Eyes"
    Released: 9 August 2023

Background

Tove Lo released her fourth studio album, Sunshine Kitty, in September 2019. It received positive reviews from contemporary music critics and had a moderate commercial performance. In May of the following year, after touring across Europe and North and South America, the singer reissued the album with the subtitle Paw Prints Edition, including four additional songs and four remixes.[4] Two years after Sunshine Kitty, Lo started teasing via social media the release of a fifth album; by September 2021, the record was "taking shape".[5] Earlier that year, in April, fellow singer Charli XCX revealed she worked with Lo in "making the best music ever" in Palm Springs, California.[5] The two previously collaborated on "Out of My Head", from XCX's 2017 mixtape Pop 2, and on the 2018 remix of "Bitches", from Lo's 2017 album Blue Lips.

In May 2022, Lo announced Pretty Swede Records, her own record label under artist development company Mtheory.[6] Being independently released, Dirt Femme marks the first time Lo had complete creative control over an album's development process. Although she recognizes the importance of her former contract with the Universal Music Group, which was "crucial" for her to breakthrough worldwide, Lo "like[s] to make these intricate stories that don't help the algorithm and maybe aren't the most commercial way to do pop releases and how you put out pop music".[7] The album's making was compared by the singer to a "emotional bungee jump" because its development process was the first since her debut, Queen of the Clouds, to not happen in between touring. "This almost felt like I was back to starting completely new again", she accounted.[6]

Promotion

Lo's first solo effort in almost two years and Dirt Femme's lead single, "How Long" was released on 26 January 2022 as part of the soundtrack from American television series Euphoria.[8] The song was also featured on the fourth episode of the series' second season, "You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can".[9] An accompanying music video directed by Seattle filmmaking duo Kenten premiered on 10 February.[10] Alongside the announcement of Pretty Swede Records' founding on 3 May 2022, Lo issued "No One Dies from Love" as the album's following single and the first material released under the newly founded imprint.[11][12] The song's music video premiered the same day[13] and was directed by Brazilian duo Alaska Filmes, with whom Lo previously worked with on "Are U Gonna Tell Her?".[14] That day, the singer also announced a concert tour, scheduled to start on 29 October and visit Europe and the United Kingdom.[12] On 21 June 2022, Lo officially revealed the album's title to be Dirt Femme, as well as its track listing, artwork and release date of 14 October.[6] The same day, she released the record's third single, "True Romance".[6] The fourth single, "2 Die 4", was released on 27 July.[15][16]

On 5 May 2023, a seven-track acoustic EP was released called Dirt Femme (Stripped).[17]

Artwork

In the album's artwork, Lo wears a metallic, robotic scorpion stinger—a reference to her astrological sign, Scorpio—attached to her back while her vagina-inspired logo lies on the side of her hip.[7] According to the singer, her use of scorpion-related imagery reflects the album's approach of femininity: "I just love the fact that the female scorpion eats the male scorpion after mating. I’m in a very lovely relationship now where we have a good balance of crazy between us. But I get told that I draw people in and I consume them".[7]

Composition

In a June 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Lo stated that her fifth album would "be a very beautiful visual and sonical [sic] journey" and that she created a "new world" for it.[7] Describing the record's lyrics as "extremely personal", she highlighted their inquisitive nature: "It's all my feelings, thoughts and questions put together in under 50 minutes with no answers". The result is a body of work encompassed by songs that "will contradict each other, will probably upset some of you, will make you want to dance, cry, fuck, and drive your car really, really, fast".[18] The album's inspiration came from a moment of introspection during the COVID-19 pandemic as she reflected upon her 10-year career, her femininity and her pansexuality in the midst of her marriage to Charlie Twaddle. She stated: "I'm bringing up all these questions and feelings and emotions that don't necessarily have answers to them. It’s just more my current place of wonder".[7] Lo further explained:

"When I started out as a writer and an artist, I used to view my feminine traits as weaker and would enhance my masculine traits to get ahead in life. I feel a big energy shift in my environment since then and this album reflects the various ways my feminine side has both helped and hurt me. I’m a pansexual woman married to a straight man. I believe masculine and feminine lives on a spectrum in all humans. There are so many more interesting nuances than most people want to accept."[18]

Lyrics of "Suburbia" address "never wanting marriage, not wanting children, and not feeling like that's a life that I want" and were inspired by the fact that some people get offended by Lo's indifference towards having children of her own.[7] "2 Die 4" samples Swedish character Crazy Frog's 2005 cover of Gershon Kingsley's 1969 song "Popcorn"; it was described as a "nostalgic wet dream" by Rolling Stone's writer Tomás Mier.[7] Lo stated that "True Romance" was recorded in a single take and was "really fun" to make due to its more "dramatic" and narrative tone in comparison to most of her works.[7] Inspired by Tony Scott's 1993 film of the same name, "True Romance" is a love song that uses the film's plot to introduce a new story, "one of the most destructive, beautiful, overdramatic spins-out-of-control love stories".[7] Since its lyrics are "very dirty" and play "over a really sexy beat", Lo described "Pineapple Slice" as a mix of "Disco Tits" and "Bitches", both included of her 2017 album Blue Lips.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[19]
Metacritic77/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
DIY[22]
Gigwise[23]
The Independent[24]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[25]
NME[26]
Pitchfork5.4/10[27]
Rolling Stone[28]
The Skinny[29]
Slant Magazine[1]

Dirt Femme received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 77 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[20] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[19]

AllMusic's Heather Phares praised the album's musical direction, writing, "Lo is maturing but holding onto the most important parts of herself. Dirt Femme gives the confessional, sexual, and danceable sides of her music equal time and offers a fuller portrait of her music than we've heard before".[21] The Line of Best Fit writer Sam Franzini poined out that "confidence and unadulterated passion for being herself comes together on Dirt Femme, a much darker album than its predecessor Sunshine Kitty, but truer to Nilsson with its pulsating beats and slinky jams" and also described the album as "sexy, smart, and most importantly; fun"[25] Emma Swann of DIY writes that Dirt Femme sees Lo juxtapose elements ingeniously.[22] Gigwise writer Jordan White described the album as "hot-bodied" additionally stating that is "overtly camp and doesn't shy from its playful side".[23] NME's Nick Levine giving it four out of five stars, named the album as "spiky, surprising and not quite cohesive, but never ever boring."[26]

In a mixed review writing for The Skinny, Tara Hepburn identified this album as "pandemic baby" lamented that this project "is a mixed bag as the singer explores new paths for herself".[29] Thomas Bedenbaugh from Slant Magazine criticised the album because of its lack of the sing-along hooks that have made Lo's past efforts, especially 2016's Lady Wood, so memorable, while describing the album as "a collection of slightly melancholic, occasionally catchy dance-floor filler".[1] Pitchfork's Peyton Thomas dubbed the album "the first Tove Lo album you can play for your grandparents", claiming that she lost "a lot of her spark in the process" of pivoting to tamer themes and giving more lethargic performances.[27]

Select year-end rankings of Dirt Femme
Publication List Rank Ref.
Stereogum The 10 Best Pop Albums Of 2022
4
PopBuzz The Best Albums of 2022
20
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2022
28
The Line of Best Fit The Best Albums of 2022 Ranked
39
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2022
49

Tour

Tove Lo announced first leg of her Dirt Femme Tour on May 3, 2022 which took place in Europe. Tickets went on sale on May 6, 2022.[35] [36]Tove Lo announced her second leg on October 3, 2022, which took place in North America. Tickets went on sale on Oct 7, 2022[37]. Additional tour dates and music festivals appearances were announced later on. On October 29, 2022 Tour began in Dublin and ended on October 14, 2023 in Austin.[38]

Date City Country Venue Opening Act
Europe
29 October 2022 Dublin Ireland 3Olympia
1 November 2022 Glasgow Scotland SWG3
2 November 2022 Manchester United Kingdom Academy
3 November 2022 Birmingham O2 Institue
5 November 2022 London Roundhouse
10 November 2022 Paris France Le Bataclan
12 November 2022 Luxembourg Luxembourg Den Atelier
13 November 2022 Amsterdam Netherlands Melkweg
15 November 2022 Berlin Germany Astra
16 November 2022 Warsaw Poland Klub Stodoła
18 November 2022 Copenhagen Denmark Vega
19 November 2022 Oslo Norway Sentrum Scene
21 November 2022 Stockholm Sweden Berns
22 November 2022
North America
6 February 2023 Nashville United States Ryman Auditorium Slayyyter
8 February 2023 Richmond The National
9 February 2023 Philadelphia The Fillmore
10 February 2023 Queens[39] Knockdown Center
13 February 2023 Montreal Canada MTELUS
14 February 2023 Toronto The History
20 February 2023 Denver United States Mission Ballroom
21 February 2023 Salt Lake City The Union Event Center
23 February 2023 Seattle Paramount Theatre
25 February 2023 Portland Roseland Theatre
27 February 2023 Oakland Fox Theatre
2 March 2023 Los Angeles Wiltern Theatre
3 March 2023

Track listing

Dirt Femme track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."No One Dies from Love"
A Strut3:06
2."Suburbia"
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
A Strut3:19
3."2 Die 4"Görres3:04
4."True Romance"
  • Nilsson
  • Timothy Nelson
Timfromthehouse4:06
5."Grapefruit"
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
  • Nelson
  • A Strut
  • Timfromthehouse
3:51
6."Cute & Cruel" (featuring First Aid Kit)Elvira3:00
7."Call on Me" (with SG Lewis)3:18
8."Attention Whore" (featuring Channel Tres)
A Strut3:11
9."Pineapple Slice" (with SG Lewis)
  • Nilsson
  • Lewis
SG Lewis2:55
10."I'm to Blame"
Payami3:20
11."Kick in the Head"
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
Timfromthehouse3:12
12."How Long"
  • A Strut
  • Timfromthehouse
3:18
Total length:39:40
Dirt Femme (Stripped) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Borderline" (Stripped in Brazil)
  • Nilsson
  • Dua Lipa
  • Jakob Jerlström
  • Söderberg
3:13
2."Call on Me" (Stripped at SG's) (with SG Lewis)
  • Nilsson
  • Lewis
  • Higginbottom
2:53
3."No One Dies from Love" (Stripped in France)
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
3:42
4."Pineapple Slice" (Stripped in Norway)
  • Nilsson
  • Lewis
3:11
5."Suburbia" (Stripped in UK)
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
3:16
6."Grapefruit" (Stripped at home)
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
  • Söderberg
3:26
7."How Long" (Stripped at home)
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
  • Söderberg
  • Redžep
3:14
Total length:22:56

Dirt Femme (Extended Cut) track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Elevator Eyes"Little2:58
2."I Like U"
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
Timfromthehouse3:11
3."Borderline"
  • Nilsson
  • Lipa
  • Jerlström
  • Söderberg
The Struts for Wolf Cousins Productions3:42
4."No One Dies from Love"
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
A Strut3:06
5."Suburbia"
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
A Strut3:19
6."2 Die 4"
  • Nilsson
  • Görres
  • Kingsley
Görres3:04
7."True Romance"
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
Timfromthehouse4:06
8."Grapefruit"
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
  • Nelson
  • A Strut
  • Timfromthehouse
3:51
9."Cute & Cruel" (featuring First Aid Kit)
  • Nilsson
  • Anderfjärd
Elvira3:00
10."Call on Me" (with SG Lewis)
  • Nilsson
  • Lewis
  • Higginbottom
  • Lewis
  • Dinosaurs
3:18
11."Attention Whore" (featuring Channel Tres)
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
  • Castille
  • Young
A Strut3:11
12."Pineapple Slice" (with SG Lewis)
  • Nilsson
  • Lewis
SG Lewis2:55
13."I'm to Blame"
  • Nilsson
  • Payami
Payami3:20
14."Kick in the Head"
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
Timfromthehouse3:12
15."How Long"
  • Nilsson
  • Redžep
  • Söderberg
  • Nelson
  • A Strut
  • Timfromthehouse
3:18
16."No One Dies from Love" (Extended)
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
A Strut3:22
17."No One Dies from Love" (Jacques Greene Remix)
  • Nilsson
  • Söderberg
A Strut3:22
18."2 Die 4" (Jax Jones Midnight Snacks Remix)
  • Nilsson
  • Görres
  • Kingsley
2:35
19."I Like U" (Dorian Electra Remix)
  • Nilsson
  • Nelson
2:35
Total length:22:56

Notes

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Dirt Femme
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 86
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[41] 167
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[42] 34
Irish Albums (IRMA)[43] 95
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[44] 41
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[45] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[46] 59
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[47] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[48] 50
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[49] 9
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[50] 50
US Billboard 200[51] 153
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[52] 24

Release history

Release dates and formats for Dirt Femme
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various 14 October 2022 Standard
  • Pretty Swede
  • mtheory
[53][54][55]
5 May 2023
  • digital download
  • streaming
Stripped [17]
11 August 2023 Extended Cut

References

  1. Bedenbaugh, Thomas (10 October 2022). "Tove Lo Dirt Femme Review: An Undefined Pop Treatise on Femininity". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. Campbell, Erica (21 June 2022). "Tove Lo on new album 'Dirt Femme', 'True Romance' and getting candid about love". NME. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  3. Lane, Lexi (9 August 2023). "Tove Lo Is All-In On A Pair Of 'Elevator Eyes' As She Doesn't Shy Away On Her Steamy New Single". Uproxx. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  4. Shaffer, Claire (22 May 2020). "Tove Lo Releases Deluxe 'Sunshine Kitty' Edition, 'Sadder Badder Cooler' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  5. Skinner, Tom (5 October 2021). "Tove Lo reveals she's almost finished writing her new album". NME. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  6. Rettig, James (21 June 2022). "Tove Lo Announces New Album 'Dirt Femme': Hear 'True Romance'". Stereogum. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. Mier, Tomás (21 June 2022). "Tove Lo Announces Fifth Album, Dirt Femme, and Talks Femininity". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  8. Peters, Daniel (26 January 2022). "Tove Lo unveils new single 'How Long' for 'Euphoria' soundtrack". NME. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. "S2E4: You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can - Euphoria Soundtrack". TuneFind. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  10. Zemler, Emily (11 February 2022). "Tove Lo Evokes Throwback Glamour in 'How Long' Music Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  11. "Tove Lo launches label in collaboration with Mtheory". Music Week. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  12. Moore, Sam (3 May 2022). "Tove Lo announces 2022 UK and European tour". NME. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  13. Mier, Tomás (3 May 2022). "Tove Lo Falls in Love With a Robot in Retrofuturistic 'No One Dies From Love' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  14. Fraga, Gabriel (29 April 2022). "Tove Lo divulga trailer de "No One Dies From Love"; clipe chega 4 de maio" [Tove Lo Releases Trailer For "No One Dies From Love"; video arrives May 4]. Papel Pop (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 14 July 2022. This is not the first time that the artist collaborates with Alaska Filmes, as they were responsible for the production of the video for 'Are U Gonna Tell Her?', her partnership with Zaac.
  15. Kenneally, Cerys (14 July 2022). "Tove Lo previews new Dirt Femme single "2 Die 4"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  16. Lo, Tove [@tovelo] (14 July 2022). "The wait is almost over 💃". Retrieved 15 July 2022 via Instagram.
  17. Paul, Larisha (5 May 2023). "Tove Lo Shares Acoustic 'Dirt Femme' Tracks on Stripped Back EP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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  20. "Tove Lo – Dirt Femme reviews and tracks". Metacritic.
  21. Phares, Heather. "Dirt Femme - Tove Lo". AllMusic.
  22. Swann, Emma (12 October 2022). "Tove Lo – Dirt Femme Album Review". DIY.
  23. White, Jordan (13 October 2022). "Album Review: Tove Lo – Dirt Femme". Gigwise.
  24. Brown, Helen (13 October 2022). "Tove Lo review, Dirt Femme: Spinning her lows into tendon-twanging highs". The Independent.
  25. Franzini, Sa (10 October 2022). "Tove Lo's Dirt Femme mixes heartfelt emotion with signature dancefloor grooves". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  26. Levine, Nick (12 October 2022). "Tove Lo – 'Dirt Femme' review: pop provocateur boldly goes it alone". NME.
  27. Thomas, Peyton (31 October 2022). "Tove Lo: Dirt Femme Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  28. Spanos, Brittany (14 October 2022). "Tove Lo Picks Apart Domestic Bliss on the Excellent 'Dirt Femme'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  29. Hepburn, Tara (10 October 2022). "Tove Lo – Dirt Femme". The Skinny. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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  31. "The Best Albums Of 2022". PopBuzz. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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  34. "The 50 Best Albums of 2022". The Guardian. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  35. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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  37. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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  39. Promoted as New York
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  41. "Ultratop.be – Tove Lo – Dirt Femme" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
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  44. "2022 42-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  45. "Album 2022 uke 42". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  46. "Top 100 Albums Weekly". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
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  49. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  50. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
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  52. "Tove Lo Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
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  54. "Dirt Femme Standard Black LP Vinyl". Tove Lo.
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