True Disaster

Last updated
"True Disaster"
Tove-Lo-True-Disaster-The-Remixes-EP.jpg
Remixes EP cover
Single by Tove Lo
from the album Lady Wood
Released15 November 2016 (2016-11-15)
Recorded
Genre
Length3:24
Label Republic
Songwriter(s)
  • Tove Lo
  • Oscar Holter
Producer(s) Oscar Holter
Tove Lo singles chronology
"Cool Girl"
(2016)		"True Disaster"
(2016)		"Disco Tits"
(2017)
Music video
"True Disaster" on YouTube

"True Disaster" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriter Tove Lo released as the second single from Lady Wood (2016), her second studio album. The song was written by Lo and Oscar Holter, and produced by Holter. It was released for US radio on 15 November 2016 by Republic Records. On 3 February 2017, Lo released the remixed version of the song called "True Disaster (Cut Snake Remix)". [1]

Contents

Composition

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
"True Disaster"
A 19-second sample of "True Disaster".
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"True Disaster" is a "dark", "pounding" 1980s-inspired synth-pop, electro, and electropop song [2] [3] [4] composed in C-sharp Dorian , following the chord progression C#m–Bsus2–F#–E throughout the whole song, and it has a tempo of 96 BPM. Lyrically, the song is about the pain that comes with destructive love. She suggests that she is willing to get hurt and doesn't care, indicated by the lines:

"Come on, zero fucks about it / Come on, I know I'm gonna get hurt", and "Keep playing my heartstrings faster and faster / You can be just what I want, my true disaster." [5] [6]

Music video

Tove Lo in a scene from the clip dancing in the middle of a deserted street. Tove Lo - True Disaster vid.png
Tove Lo in a scene from the clip dancing in the middle of a deserted street.

The music video for "True Disaster" is a part of the short film Fairy Dust , which was directed by Tim Erem and premiered on 30 October 2016 via Lo's Vevo channel. [7] The standalone video debuted on 29 November 2016 on her YouTube and Vevo channels. [8] The video was filmed as a one-shot. [8]

The video starts with the singer driving a car and having a normal conversation with the character named Lorna, played by Lina Esco, who plays the role of Lo's self-destructive alter ego. [9] [10] She suddenly bangs Lo's head against the car, causing an accident. Another scene shows Lorna pouring gasoline on the car. [11] The singer wakes up, getting herself out of the car. She starts walking on a neon-lit street in a choreographed dance. [7] [12] [13] [14]

Critical reception

Writing for Slant Magazine, Sal Cinquemani spoke favorably of the track and opined that "the new wave-infused [...] those gestures are filtered through a patently contemporary lens" comparing it to Taylor Swift's work on 1989 . [15] Heather Phares from AllMusic wrote "the sweet melody adds a thrill of anticipation." [16] Alim Kheraj from DIY wrote in a review for Lady Wood , "[True Disaster] acknowledges and celebrates the singer’s flaws by juxtaposing them over industrial synths." [17]

Nick Levine from NME noted the connection between the previous title-track saying "she sings about hooking up and getting hard on [Lady Wood], tells us she doesn’t fancy pretty boys (or pretty girls) on [True Disaster]". [18] Katherine St. Asaph from Pitchfork spoke positively about the track defining it as "one of the year's best pop songs". [19] Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone wrote that "her world is a mess of bleary late nights and confessional abandon". [20] James Rettig from Stereogum wrote in a review for the track "It’s a sparkling, pulsating number about the inevitable devastation that comes with falling in love". [21]

Live performances

"True Disaster" was first performed at a pre-Video Music Awards concert in August 2016. [22] On 19 November, Lo performed "True Disaster" on the French television show Quotidien . [23] On 22 November, she performed the song for iHeartRadio, along with "Cool Girl", "Talking Body", "Keep It Simple", and "Habits (Stay High)" at The X Studio in Sydney. [24]

Track listing

  1. "True Disaster" (Cut Snake Remix) – 5:04
  2. "True Disaster" (Woody Runs Remix) – 2:41
  3. "True Disaster" (LIOHN Remix) – 2:24
  4. "True Disaster" (Youngr Remix) – 2:43

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lady Wood. [26]

Charts

Chart (2016–17)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia) [27] 31
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) [28] 26
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) [29] 65
Russia Airplay (Tophit) [30] 257
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [31] 56
US Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [32] 50

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)LabelRef.
Various14 October 2016Digital download (via pre-order of Lady Wood) Island [33]
United States15 November 2016 Contemporary hit radio Republic [34]
Italy18 November 2016 Universal [35]

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References

  1. ↑ ToveLoVEVO (2017-02-03), Tove Lo – True Disaster (Cut Snake Remix) , retrieved 2017-02-05
  2. ↑ Krakoff, Justin (9 November 2016). "Swedish pop star Tove Lo takes us through an emotional roller coaster on 'Lady Wood'". The Tufts Daily . Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "VIDEO: Tove Lo – 'True Disaster'". Scandipop. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (22 February 2017). "Watch Tove Lo's Sultry 'True Disaster' Performance On 'Seth Meyers'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Lindberg, Cailey (18 October 2016). "Tove Lo "True Disaster" Review: Seductive New Single Released From 'Lady Wood'". Music Times. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Roth, Melanie (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo Is Headed For 'True Disaster,' And She Doesn't Give A Single Fuck". MTV News . Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Tove Lo – Fairy Dust". Vevo . 30 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Tove Lo – True Disaster (Part of Fairy Dust)". Vevo . 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Vain, Madison (29 November 2016). "Tove Lo releases fiery 'True Disaster' video". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Viswanath, Jake (1 November 2016). "Tove Lo Releases Hypnotizing Short Film 'Fairy Dust'". V . Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (29 November 2016). "Watch Tove Lo's Ominous 'True Disaster' Video". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Weatherby, Taylor (29 November 2016). "Tove Lo Can't Escape Perilous Desires in 'True Disaster' Video". Billboard . Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Schroeder, Audra (2 November 2016). "Tove Lo's NSFW music video 'Fairy Dust' flagged on YouTube for sexual content". Daily Dot . Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. ↑ Wicks, Amanda (29 November 2016). "Tove Lo Can't Escape the Wreckage in 'True Disaster' Video". Radio.com . Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  15. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (27 October 2016). "Tove Lo: Lady Wood". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  16. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Lady Wood – Tove Lo". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  17. ↑ Kheraj, Alim (25 October 2016). "Tove Lo – Lady Wood". DIY . Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  18. ↑ Levine, Nick (27 October 2016). "Tove Lo – 'Lady Wood' Review". NME . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  19. ↑ St. Asaph, Katherine (1 November 2016). "Tove Lo: Lady Wood". Pitchfork . Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  20. ↑ Dolan, Jon (28 October 2016). "Review: Tove Lo Part Pop Star, Part Perfect Disaster on 'Lady Wood'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  21. ↑ Rettig, James (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo – "True Disaster"". Stereogum . Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Dinh, James (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo Knows She's Going To Get Hurt On 'True Disaster' (LISTEN)". iHeartRadio . Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  23. ↑ Barthes, Yann (19 November 2016). "Tove Lo – "True Disaster" en live dans Quotidien". TF1 (in French). Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  24. ↑ "Photos: iHeartRadio LIVE with Tove Lo – Performance". iHeartRadio . 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "True Disaster (The Remixes) – EP by Tove Lo". iTunes Store (US). 27 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  26. ↑ Lady Wood (CD liner notes). Tove Lo. Island Records. 2016. B0025423-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ↑ "Tove Lo – True Disaster" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  28. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201708 into search. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  29. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  30. ↑ "Tove Lo – True Disaster – Tophit 300 General" (in Russian). Tophit . Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  31. ↑ "Tove Lo – True Disaster". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  32. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  33. ↑ Leight, Elias (14 October 2016). "Tove Lo Embraces Romantic Destruction on 'True Disaster'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  35. ↑ "Tove Lo – True Disaster (Radio Date: 18-11-2016)" (in Italian). EarOne. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
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