Tove Styrke peforms at The Anthem on Feb. 24, 2022. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Swedish singer Tove Stryke was conversataional and casual, and she easily chatted with the audience between songs at The Anthem recently.
“I fell in love with my best friend recently,” Tove said, matter of factly, “and I did something I never did before: I wrote her a song.” Tove then sang that song, “Show Me Love,” near the end of a short opening set for Marina during their shared concert performance in DC.
“Show Me Love” was one of three new songs recorded by Tove, who demonstrated a fondness for Europop and disco. She performed all three at The Anthem on Feb. 24, introducing “Mood Swings” as something that happens to us all and strutted across the stage to herald the song “Start Walking.”
The three songs are scheduled to appear on a new album, apparently titled Hardcore and dropping on March 11. It will be the fourth studio album for Tove, who has gained more and more popularity in her native Sweden over the past decade. This was my first exposure to her, and I was utterly charmed.
Watch the official music video for “Show Me Love” by Tove Styrke on YouTube:
“I’m from Sweden, so I should give you a proper Swedish hello,” Tove said near the middle of her set. “Do you like ABBA? This is my favorite ABBA song.” She then launched into “Super Trouper” by ABBA. Her slow, breathy take on the song made me think of an imaginary Cyndi Lauper version a la “True Colors.”
Tove also drew several songs from Sway, her third studio album. The electropoppy selections dated from 2018 and included the album’s title track as well as “Say My Name,” a single that I surely heard before but didn’t connect to Tove. I surely won’t make that mistake again! She delivered “Say My Name” as a rousing singalong where the audience bop-bop-bopped along to the remarkably catchy chorus.
Once the new album is in the bank, DC would certainly be happy to prance and strut along with Tove again! The sold-out capacity crowd at The Anthem was universally pleased with her nine-song opening set and would surely have welcomed more.
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Here are some photos of Tove Styrke performing at The Anthem on Feb. 24, 2022.
