Tove Styrke, the Swedish singer who gave us great pop songs like ‘Say My Name’, ‘Mistakes’, ‘On the Low’, ‘Ego’, ‘Borderline’ or ‘Show Me Love’ (and we could go on, her version of Lorde’s ‘Liability’ was tremendous), and who, for a brief moment, seemed like the second coming of Robyn, thanks to the innovative sound of her albums, especially the third, has announced her fourth album.
Although you can now sit and wait to listen to it, because it will be released in the fall. It’s called ‘The Afterparty’, after all. That is, chances are that by the time it comes out, you’ll have already heard most of its content.
The first preview is surprising. Do you remember the house single that featured Tame Impala’s last album? It goes more or less that way. ‘Prayer’ is an anti-single, an electronic mantra that serves as an introduction to the new era of Tove Styrke rather than a single to listen to on loop.
‘Prayer’ is a 5+ minute club-house crescendo that has a touch of electro, a Jamie xx touch too, evident in its bouncy electronic effects, and some dance-punk thanks to its prominent bass plucking. The lyrics, which repeat “I can have it, if I want, I’m worth it”, also serve as a repetitive, almost hypnotic leitmotif.
Styrke says that ‘The Afterparty’ is the “most ambitious” album of his career. And he explains his concept like this: «I feel like we are living in the afterparty phase of our time. The album reflects on what that does to a person, told through the lens of a real afterparty.
‘Prayer’ is “exactly what its title suggests: a prayer, an affirmation.” «For me it conveys a feeling of hope and anticipation», adds the artist, «like the sunset in a city full of possibilities. It is the song that opens the album and the only logical place to start telling this story.
