Tove Lo talks ‘Estrus’ and the power of therapy: “There’s way more love for and acceptance of the messy girl”

Tove Lo has spoken to NME about her upcoming sixth album ’Estrus’, as well as being inspired by Robyn and Lykke Li, her journey from depression through therapy, and the legacy of smash hit single ‘Habits (Stay High)’. READ MORE: Tove Lo and SG Lewis tell us about their EP made “for the queer dance floor” Previewed by singles ‘I’m Your Girl Right?’, ‘DNH’, and Stromae collaboration ‘Des Fleurs’, ‘Estrus’ marks Tove Lo’s first solo record in four years – the longest break she’s ever taken between studio albums, thanks to a period of writer’s block following her 2024 collaborative project with SG Lewis, ‘Heat’. “After that, I felt kind of creatively satisfied for a while,” Tove Lo told NME, “and then when I started to do this record, I was like: ‘Man, I don’t even know what I want to say. Am I ready to open up again? I don’t know’.” Pressing pause on writing for six months, Tove Lo later settled in the small Swedish fishing village she spent summers growing up, working with longtime collaborator Ludvig Söderberg. Here, the album began to take shape, with the ’80s-imbued synth-belter ‘Die For My Art With A Lonely Heart’ being one of the first tracks to emerge in the writing process. ‘E...