Tove Lo Returns to Childhood Summers for New Album ‘Estrus’

Tove Lo will release her new album Estrus on September 18. The record pulls her back to the places she came from—sessions took place in Los Angeles and Stockholm, but also in a small Swedish fishing village where she spent summers as a child. That return forced old memories to the surface, many of them uncomfortable.

The title itself leaves little room for distance. It names a mammal in heat, and Lo describes the project as a visceral, explicitly feminine thing. “Estrus is an animal in heat. It’s primal. It’s my mind and my body wanting different things, wanting everything,” she explains. “There’s no good advice on this album… just a lot of feelings, no solutions.”

Longtime collaborator Ludvig Söderberg worked on the album, alongside Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. A feature from Belgian artist Stromae also appears on the track “des fleurs.” The album’s announcement arrives with two UK tour dates confirmed: Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse on November 5 and London’s O2 Academy Brixton on November 7.

The lead single, “I’m Your Girl Right?,” is out now. Its video, directed by Nogari, was shot outside São Paulo in a former monastery and involves over 70 dancers. Lo’s note on the collaboration cuts through the noise: “Our minds blend so beautifully twisted together.”