7/10

Over the last few years, Sweden's Tove Lo has proven herself as one of the more unconventional pop acts of recent memory. Her 2016 album 'Lady Wood', although mostly playing it safe in the lyrical content, did see her embark on some pretty sexually explicit imagery within her music, not to mention in the album's title and artwork. But now returning with her third studio LP 'Blue Lips', the subheading clearly identifies this as a continuation to her previous full-length as she looks to get even more graphic.

While her obvious attempts to make the more prudish listener a little uncomfortable with the sexual imagery in the album's opening track 'Light Beams', she clearly isn't looking to make sex the focus of this release. 'Blue Lips' is one of the few pop releases so far this year that manages to create a diverse yet interesting sound by simply keeping Tove on a level par with the album's production. The instrumentation is just as much the hook of this release as her vocals and lyrics, giving it a real depth of sonic delight.

'Blue Lips' may have the occasional blip here and there, but overall it is a thoroughly enjoyable release. Keeping as much of the 'Lady Wood' sound as it can, this follow-up manages to impress and evolve in equal measure and delivers a possibly the raunchiest release of the year so far.