Swedish pop darling Tove Styrke had commercial success with last year’s Borderline EP, and she’s now followed up with her second full-length album Kiddo. It’s jam-packed with over produced mainstream fodder that’ll no doubt make all of the major radio networks weak at the knees. For the scrupulous listeners of Melbourne town, I don’t know if her sound will fly, but abroad, especially in London where pop is king, she’s played to packed-out venues.
It should be said, Borderline – the second single from an album that lasts a little over 40 minutes – has a great feel, with subtly diverse influences that make you think of Gwen Stefani in the early days of No Doubt. Though, it feels a bit like a grab at credibility; like thieving someone else’s inspiration.
To be fair, all of the tracks start out strong, but they don’t always have the depth to hold interest all the way through. That said, at just 22, Styrke’s still got plenty of time to find her feet. She has made good ground since her earlier material and perhaps with a bit more experience she’ll be an artist to be reckoned with. In the meantime, at least she’s extending herself beyond tracks such as Fuck My Brains Out, the 2011 collaboration with Swedish duo Caotico. On Kiddo, feminism is broached on a few tracks and she even throws in a bit of rap on Number One.
Pretty much all of the songs follow a fairly traditional structure, which can be a little tiresome, especially from within a music scene that comprises so much multi-genre, convention-busting music. For instance, Decay starts out strong, but a tune needs more than one hook to turn heads.
Styrke rose to prominence at age 16 after placing third in the Swedish version of Idol. Kiddo indicates it’s hard to separate yourself from the music machine when you’ve been created from within it.
BY LITTLE STONE
