“These are all emotional one takes recorded all over the world… at soundcheck, at home or elsewhere,” the singer shared of the new renditions
Tove Lo washed away the pop production on four songs that originally appeared on her latest albumDirt Femme to create an intimate collection titled Dirt Femme (Stripped). The EP features new renditions of “No One Dies From Love,” “Suburbia, “Grapefruit,” and “Pineapple Slice.”
“You’ve asked me for an acoustic album so I thought… why shouldn’t I give you what you want?” Tove Lo wrote in a press release. To sweeten the deal, the singer added an acoustic version of her latest release “Borderline,” which arrived a few months after Dirt Femme.
“These are all emotional one takes recorded all over the world… at soundcheck, at home or elsewhere,” she added. “Thank you to everyone who made these possible.”
Tove Lo originally wrote “Borderline” with Dua Lipa before having it transformed into an eighties-channeling synth-pop record. On the new version, its deeper meaning floats to the surface. “Borderline is a song about being on the edge of love. The drama you cause inside yourself and with another person if you feel insecure. You test them,” Tove Lo shared in a statement when the song was first released. “This song has existed for a long time, and I’ve always felt it was incredibly special, so getting to release it now has sort of a full-circle feeling.”
Even “Suburbia,” an already topically heavy song in its original form, carries a new rawness to it. “It’s about never wanting marriage, not wanting children, and not feeling like that’s a life that I want. But then like, ‘What if I do?’ “ Tove Lo told Rolling Stone last year. “All of my friends around me have kids — babies are adorable and I’m so happy for my friends — but whenever I say ‘I still don’t know if I want kids,’ they take it so personally and get really offended by me saying that.”
Speaking of Dirt Femme more holistically, she added: “I’ve looked back on how my femininity has helped and hurt me throughout my life. And I think the album has that tone to it. 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.”