EP Review: Tove Styrke – Borderline
3 min read
Tove Styrke first burst onto the scene back in 2009 after the young singer took out third place on Swedish Idol. After Idol it wasn’t long before the record labels came knocking and in December of the same year Sony Music snatched up the promising young talent. In 2010 Styrke released her debut self titled album which went on to claim mainstream success, the album spent 35 weeks on the top album charts and also made its way to platinum certification in Sweden. Things started to get a bit quiet for Styrke over the last couple of years however; the electropop star is now back with her latest EP titled Borderline (and I have to say its some of her finest work).
With a more mature sound Styrke gets things started with the EP’s title track Borderline. Released back in October the song has a mixture of reggae basslines and folk inspired guitar that combine to create a catchy opener. Styrke’s vocals are definitely the highlight on this one, her infectious voice makes for a fantastic chorus which is sure to be stuck in your head for days (not in the bad kind of way like a One Direction song though). Up next is the synth heavy Samurai Boy, the urban pop sounding track shows the diversity in Styrke’s new style and lets just say we’re pretty impressed. Like majority of the songs on this EP the track has a simple sound that has an enormous effect.
Brag is another track that shows even more diversity, this time Styrke goes for a slower track that sounds like it has some culture behind it with its Asian folk inspired style. Whilst the delicate track shows the different styles that Styrke can produce it doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the EP in my opinion. Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You is another track that was released earlier in the year, labelled as her comeback single the song has a strong resemblance to The Ting Tings 2008 hit single That’s Not My Name. Starting off with just some simple claps the song gradually leads into an explosion of synths, guitars, organs and whatever else I’m missing out of that orgy of sounds.
Walking A Line is the last track from Styrke, the piano lead beat combines with the catchy percussion, crazy synths and of course Styrke’s exciting vocals to create the highlight of the EP. The last track is a remix of the title track Borderline by Swedish DJ Salvatore Ganacci. Ganacci manages to keep it sounding similar to the original however; he heats things up with a heavy trap influenced beat, one that is sure to be a dance floor killer.
Styrke has come a long way since we first heard her back in 2009, her sound and style has matured greatly however; I think we are still yet to heat the best from the young Swedish artist. With an album scheduled to be released next year my prediction is that it’s only going to get better.
