Swedish hitmaker Tove Styrke strips it back on ‘Show Me Love’

Tove Styrke rose to fame after competing on Swedish Idol back in 2009 and has since become a staple of the mainstream electropop scene. 

Her most recent string of tracks, though, show a modern-day pop star reckoning with her emotions and vulnerability like never before. 

‘Show Me Love’ follows on from the singles ‘Start Walking’ and ‘Mood Swings’, and much like its predecessors, its heightened openness only complements Styrke’s signature catchy sound.

‘Show Me Love’ is the most sonically pared-down of the recent trio, composed of electric guitar strumming beneath glossy vocals. It finds her fascinated by a potentially destructive love connection. In an official press release for the track, she explained, “These feelings are like candy paste and cement at the same time. We’ve got that fun, fast food, easy side to it, but it can also evolve into a war. I’m scared and obsessed with it.”

For a song concerned with the recklessness of falling in love, it remains remarkably self-contained; its bridge centralises a woozy guitar solo over any climactic outbreak of feeling. The melodies are enticing and breezy, especially immediately following the instrumental break, when Tove’s soaring vocals declare, “I gotta make-up for the nights / I wasted / Dancing in the dark”.

It’s only January, but 2022 is already shaping up to be Tove Styrke’s year ­­– she is heading out on a tour of the US and Canada with MARINA next month, and her fourth full-length album is likely to drop soon. We can’t wait to see what else she has in store.

 

 

Eleanor Burleigh

@eleanoranneb

Image: ‘Show Me Love’ Official Single Cover (PRESS)