Lady Wood

Lady Wood
Studio album by Tove Lo
Released	28 October 2016
Recorded	2014 – May 2016
Studio	Golden Age Studios, MXM Studios (Los Angeles) Wolf Cousins Studios (Stockholm)
Genre	Electropop[1] synthpop[2] dance-pop tech house[3]
Length	39:35
Label	Island
Producer	Oscar Görres Oscar Holter Ilya Joel Little Tove Lo (exec.) Ali Payami Ludvig Söderberg (also exec.)
Tove Lo chronology
Queen of the Clouds (2014) Lady Wood (2016)
Singles from Lady Wood
"Cool Girl" Released: 4 August 2016 "True Disaster" Released: 15 November 2016

Lady Wood is the second studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo, released on 28 October 2016 by Island Records. The project was recorded between 2014 and May 2016, which Lo commented was a quicker turnaround than the "whole life" she was afforded when creating her previous record.^[4]

Lady Wood consists of two chapters, "Fairy Dust" and "Fire Fade", which collectively describe the "different kinds of rushes in life". Lo considers it to be the first half of a two-piece double album, with the chapters "Light Beam" and "Pitch Black" announced for her upcoming third studio album in 2017. Lo co-wrote all twelve tracks included on the record; she collaborated with guest vocalists Wiz Khalifa and Joe Janiak, and producers including Rickard Göransson, Joel Little, and Ilya Salmanzadeh.

"Cool Girl" was serviced as the lead single from Lady Wood on 4 August 2016, reaching number 15 in Sweden and number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "True Disaster" was released on 15 November 2016 as the album's second single. The short film Fairy Dust, inspired by the first half of the record, was released on Vevo on 31 October.

Background

"I remember writing the bridge of the title track, and thinking that I wanted to say, like, 'You're turning me on,' but I wanted to find another word. Like, what's the word for a female hard-on? I think I heard it in a movie somewhere—they were just like, 'You give me wood.' And I was like, 'Girl wood, or, Lady wood! Yes!'"

— Lo explaining the creation of the album title.^[5]

On 17 August, Lo revealed that her second studio album would be titled Lady Wood and would be released on 28 October 2016.^[6] In reference to the title, she commented that "it's kind of like saying a chick with balls, but since we don't have balls, it's lady wood."^[7]

Composition

["Fairy Dust"] is when I hear the fans shouting my name and I’m about to hit the stage. "Fire Fade" is when it all sort of starts to wear off and I’m losing connection with the fans a bit, and I’m trying to get back to that first chase. You feel vulnerable there. It's where you start to reveal your true self.

— Lo describing the chapters of Lady Wood.^[8]

Lady Wood was inspired by "the chase, the rush, the peak, and the downfall [of the] emotional rollercoaster" Lo experienced since her extended play Truth Serum and debut studio album Queen of the Clouds were released in 2014.^[8] The album consists of two chapters: "Fairy Dust", which details the euphoria surrounding an gratifying encounter, and "Fire Fade", which highlights a subsequent sense of self-awareness.^[9] Lo announced Lady Wood is to be the first half of a two-piece double album, with the third and fourth chapters "Light Beam" and "Pitch Black" to be included on Lo's third studio album in 2017.^[9]

Promotion

The lead single from the album, "Cool Girl", was released on 4 August 2016,^[10][11] reaching number 15 in Sweden and number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[12]

"Influence" was released on 9 September 2016 as the first promotional single from the album. The song features American rapper Wiz Khalifa. "True Disaster" was originally released on 14 October 2016 as the second promotional single. The song will be sent to US contemporary hit radio on 15 November 2016 as the album's second single.^[13]

On 23 October 2016, five days prior to the release of the Lady Wood, Lo announced a 21-date North American and European headlining tour to promote the album.

Fairy Dust

The trailer for Fairy Dust, a short film based on the first half of the album, was released on 17 October 2016. The full short film for Fairy Dust was released on 31 October 2016. She later confirmed that another short film for the second half of the album title Fire Fade would be released in early 2017. Pitch Black and Light Beam will be the two chapters on her third album which will be a sequel to Lady Wood with short films accompanying both.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[14]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[15]
DIY	[16]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[17]
NME	[18]
The Observer	[19]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Slant Magazine	[20]

Lady Wood received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 14 reviews.^[14] Entertainment Weekly's Madison Vain praised the album as "the darkest, weirdest, most irresistible pop record of the fall" and wrote, "While Lo's lyrics are stark and intensely personal, the music sounds engineered for the masses."^[17] Writing for NME, Nick Levine commented that "[s]ome listeners may not warm to Lo's persona, but her songwriting skills are difficult to fault", adding that "she keeps the hooks coming throughout as her hip, minimal electro-pop quivers, shimmers, pulses and throbs."^[18] Alim Kheraj of DIY noted that "Lady Wood isn't an album made for radio or easy digestion. The hooks are there but, like Tove herself, they aren't succumbing expectations."^[16]

Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone opined that the album "doesn't have anything that hits quite as hard as 'Stay High (Habits)' [sic] and 'Talking Body' [...] But its minimalist tech-house sound has a darkly textured allure".^[3] Heather Phares of AllMusic remarked that "despite its provocative title, [Lady Wood] often feels more straightforward than Queen of the Clouds did."^[15] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine concluded that "Lady Wood is admirably lean and tightly focused, and though it doesn't boast confessionals on the order of Like a Prayer's, it offers a peek inside the psyche of a smart, burgeoning young star."^[20] Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork stated that "Lady Wood is short, but Lo finds ample darkness to plumb."^[2] The Observer's Kitty Empire expressed that "Lady Wood is, if anything, classier than Queen of the Clouds. But it might not sell so well, in that it lacks the sleazy catnip—the sex clubs, the self-abasement—displayed in the latter's defining singles."^[19]

Track listing

Lady Wood – Standard version[21]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Fairy Dust" (Chapter I)	Ludvig Söderberg		0:57
2.	"Influence" (featuring Wiz Khalifa)	Tove Lo Söderberg Jakob Jerlström Wiz Khalifa	The Struts	3:44
3.	"Lady Wood"	Lo Oscar Holter Söderberg	Holter Söderberg	3:19
4.	"True Disaster"	Lo Holter	Holter	3:44
5.	"Cool Girl"	Lo Söderberg Jerlström	The Struts	3:19
6.	"Vibes" (featuring Joe Janiak)	Lo Söderberg Jerlström Janiak	The Struts	3:46
7.	"Fire Fade" (Chapter II)	Ilya Salmanzadeh		0:52
8.	"Don't Talk About It"	Lo Ilya Rickard Göransson	Ilya	3:54
9.	"Imaginary Friend"	Lo Söderberg Jerlström Joel Little	Little The Struts	4:12
10.	"Keep It Simple"	Lo Ali Payami	Payami	3:51
11.	"Flashes"	Lo Oscar Görres	Görres	4:16
12.	"WTF Love Is"	Lo Söderberg Jerlström	The Struts	3:41
Total length:				39:35

Lady Wood – Target-exclusive bonus tracks[22]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Cool Girl" (The Knocks Remix)	Lo Söderberg Jerlström	The Struts The Knocks^[a]
14.	"True Disaster" (Hyperbits Remix)	Lo Holter	Holter Hyperbits^[a]
15.	"Influence" (featuring Wiz Khalifa) (Chords Remix)	Lo Söderberg Jerlström Wiz Khalifa	The Struts Chords^[a]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a remixer.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lady Wood.^[23]

Tove Lo – vocals (tracks 2–6, 8–12); creative direction, executive production Cory Bice – assistant engineering (track 8) Samuel Burgess-Johnson – art direction, design Tony Ciulla – management Tom Coyne – mastering Tim Erem – creative direction Serban Ghenea – mixing Oscar Görres – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (track 11) Laura Haber – management John Hanes – engineering for mix Peter Hart – A&R Sam Holland – engineering (track 8) Oscar Holter – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (tracks 3, 4) Ilya – arrangement, bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (track 8)

Joe Janiak – guitar, vocals (track 6) Matt Jones – photography Jeremy Lertola – assistant engineering (track 8) Joel Little – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (track 9) Randy Merrill – mastering assistance Serena Neo – art direction, design Noah Passovoy – vocal recording (track 2) Ali Payami – all other instrumentation, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, producer, programming (track 10) Julius Petersson – A&R Ludvig Söderberg – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (track 3); executive production The Struts – bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, production, programming (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 12) Wiz Khalifa – vocals (track 2)

Charts

Chart (2016)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24]	21
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25]	45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26]	60
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27]	14
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[28]	13
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[29]	28
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[30]	20
French Albums (SNEP)[31]	88
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32]	66
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33]	32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34]	16
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35]	7
Scottish Albums (OCC)[36]	64
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[37]	63
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38]	1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[39]	40
UK Albums (OCC)[40]	40
US Billboard 200[41]	11

Release history

Region	Date	Version(s)	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
Various	28 October 2016	Standard	CD digital download streaming	Island	[21]
United States		Target exclusive	CD		[22]
	11 November 2016	Standard	LP		[42]

References

1. Campbell, Chuck (1 November 2016). "Music review: Tove Lo's 'Lady Wood' doesn't cut it". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
2. St. Asaph, Katherine (1 November 2016). "Tove Lo: Lady Wood". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
3. Dolan, Jon (28 October 2016). "Review: Tove Lo Part Pop Star, Part Perfect Disaster on 'Lady Wood'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
4. "Tove Lo Is Officially Done With Her New 'Dark Techno' Album". American Top 40. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
5. Stone, Avery (20 October 2016). "Sex, Love, and 'Lady Wood': A First Date with Tove Lo". Vice. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
6. Sonis, Rachel (17 August 2016). "Tove Lo's Second Album 'Lady Wood' Will Be Released In October". Idolator. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
7. Wass, Mike (14 September 2016). "Tove Lo Explains Why She Called Her Sophomore LP 'Lady Wood'". Idolator. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
8. Chang, Keith (19 October 2016). "Tove Lo Bares Her Soul on Revealing Cover Shoot for Fault Magazine Issue 24". Fault. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
9. Spanos, Brittany (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo on Going to Extremes: 'I'm Never as Happy as When I Lose Control'". Rolling Stone. Janner Media. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
10. "Cool Girl – Single by Tove Lo". iTunes Store (NZ). Retrieved 17 August 2016.
11. Craddock, Lauren (4 August 2016). "Tove Lo Takes a Page From 'Gone Girl' for New Single 'Cool Girl': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
12. "Tove Lo – Chart history: The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
13. "Top 40/Mainstream > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
14. "Reviews for Lady Wood by Tove Lo". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
15. Phares, Heather. "Lady Wood – Tove Lo". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
16. Kheraj, Alim (25 October 2016). "Tove Lo – Lady Wood". DIY. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
17. Vain, Madison (28 October 2016). "Tove Lo's Lady Wood: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
18. Levine, Nick (27 October 2016). "Tove Lo – 'Lady Wood' Review". NME. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
19. Empire, Kitty (30 October 2016). "Tove Lo: Lady Wood review – a hard sell for girl power". The Observer. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
20. Cinquemani, Sal (27 October 2016). "Tove Lo: Lady Wood". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
21. Issues of Lady Wood:
    • Sweden: "Lady Wood av Tove Lo på Apple Music" (in Swedish). iTunes Store (SE). Apple Inc. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
    • United Kingdom: "Lady Wood by Tove Lo on Apple Music". iTunes Store (GB). Apple Inc. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
    • United States: "Lady Wood by Tove Lo on Apple Music". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
22. "Tove Lo - Lady Wood (Target Exclusive)". Target. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
23. Lady Wood (CD liner notes). Tove Lo. Island Records. 2016. B0025423-02.
24. "Australiancharts.com – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
25. "Ultratop.be – Tove Lo – Lady Wood" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
26. "Ultratop.be – Tove Lo – Lady Wood" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
27. "Tove Lo – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Tove Lo. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
28. "Danishcharts.com – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tove Lo – Lady Wood" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
30. "Tove Lo: Lady Wood" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
31. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes - SNEP (Week 44, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
32. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tove Lo – Lady Wood" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
33. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 44, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
34. "Charts.org.nz – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
35. "Norwegiancharts.com – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
36. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
37. "TOP 100 ALBUMES — SEMANA 44: del 28.10.2016 al 03.11.2016" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
38. "Swedishcharts.com – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
39. "Swisscharts.com – Tove Lo – Lady Wood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
40. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
41. "Tove Lo – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Tove Lo. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
42. "Tove Lo – Lady Wood LP". Urban Outfitters. Retrieved 22 October 2016.