Lady Wood
Lady Wood is the second studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo, released on 28 October 2016 by Island Records. Lady Wood is considered the first half of a two-piece concept album that describe "highs, lows and ultimate demise of a relationship." Its chapters "Fairy Dust" and "Fire Fade" precede the chapters "Light Beams" and "Pitch Black" from her following album Blue Lips (2017). It was recorded between July 2015 and May 2016, which Lo commented was a quicker turnaround than the "whole life" she was afforded when creating her previous record Queen of the Clouds (2014).[4]
This article is about the Tove Lo album. For the area in Leeds, see Lady Wood, Leeds. For the district in Birmingham, see Ladywood.Lady Wood
28 October 2016
July 2015 – April 2016
- Wolf Cousins (Stockholm)[a]
- MXM (Los Angeles)[b]
- Golden Age (Los Angeles)[c]
39:35
- Oscar Görres
- Oscar Holter
- Ilya
- Joel Little
- Ali Payami
- Ludvig Söderberg
- The Struts
The tracks that begin each chapter are instrumental compositions by The Struts member Ludvig Södberg ("Fairy Dust"), and Ilya Salmanzadeh ("Fire Fade").Including the introductory tracks, Lo co-wrote the album's 10 songs. The album features new collaborations with producers Ilya, Oscar Holter, Oscar Görres, Rickard Göransson, and Joel Little, and guest vocals from rapper Wiz Khalifa, and fellow singer-songwriter, Joe Janiak. Two short films complemented the album's two chapters. The first, Fairy Dust, was released on 31 October 2016, and was followed by Fire Fade on 25 August 2017. These short films focus on a fictionalized, self-destructive version of Lo while expanding on the album's lyrical themes. Both short films were produced by Diktator, written by Lo and Tim Erem and directed by Erem.
"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 album peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, becoming her highest-charting album in the country to date. To promote the album, Lo embarked on her second concert tour, Lady Wood Tour.
Background and composition[edit]
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.[5] The album consists of two chapters: "Fairy Dust", which details the euphoria surrounding a gratifying encounter, and "Fire Fade", which highlights a subsequent sense of self-awareness.[6] Lo announced Lady Wood is to be the first half of a two-piece album, with the third and fourth chapters "Light Beam" and "Pitch Black" to be included on Lo's third studio album in 2017.[6]
Title and release[edit]
On 17 August 2016, Lo revealed that her second studio album would be titled Lady Wood and would be released on 28 October.[7] About the title, Tove Lo recalls "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!'"[8]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[26] and Tidal[27]
Notes