Bop of the Week: Tove Lo "No One Dies From Love"
Let's rejoice. A new Tove Lo era is upon us.
Tove Lo never ceases to amaze me. Over the years, she has developed a distinct brand of pop that’s deliciously daring, utterly catchy, and always slightly ahead of the curve. Tove doesn’t shy away from a little risk. I remember her label getting a tad nervous about promoting “Disco Tits,” but Tove had no doubts about it whatsoever. Her fully-charged, unapologetic approach to pop suits her.
Her brand-new single, "‘No One Dies From Love," is a sad bop of the most perfect kind. It was co-written with her long-time collaborator Ludvig Söderberg. "When you’re with someone for a long time and it ends all of a sudden, it’s like a part of you has died," the Swedish pop cool girl says in a press release. "This person is now a stranger to you. All of the memories are tainted."
She adds, "For the first part of the breakup, you believe you’re not supposed to feel good about anything you had together. What I believe I do best is 'heartbreak you can dance to.' The song is that."
The video for "No One Does From Love” is equally compelling. It tells a sci-fi-inspired story about a protagonist looking for a genuine connection but ending with a humanoid robot programmed to comfort her. It captures the theme of that song that life goes on after a break-up but some things will never feel the same again.
Directed by Brazilian duo Alaska, the music video was filmed on location in Mexico City. Tove comments, “All the songs on [my forthcoming new album] are very cinematic, dramatic and grand, so for the visual story I want to attach a character to each song. For ‘No One Dies From Love’ it's the classic vulnerable, lonely starlet looking for connection. This mini movie is a different kind of love story.”
This Madonna fan can’t fail to notice Tove’s (unintended?) nod to 2005’s “Hung Up” that shows a dance sequence similar to the one in Tove’s video.
Alongside the release of "No One Dies From Love" this week, Tove Lo has also announced the launch of her own record label Pretty Swede Records with distributing partner mtheory, creating an independent platform for her artistry. “It’s amazing,” she explains. “I have a lot of freedom, and it’s been fun to work with mtheory. This will be the first release under my label. I’m a pop girl, but I like to make things weird and be in full control of the whole vision. This is the perfect way to put out exactly what I want.”
Gotta love Tove for always putting artistry first! 👏