Estrus (album)

Estrus
Studio album by
Tove Lo
Released18 September 2026 (2026-09-18)
Studios
Length32:28
LabelPretty Swede
Producers
Tove Lo chronology
Heat
(2024)		 Estrus
(2026)
Singles from Estrus
  1. "I'm Your Girl Right?"
    Released: 13 May 2026
  2. "Des fleurs"
    Released: 12 June 2026
  3. "DNH"
    Released: 29 July 2026

Estrus is the sixth studio album by the Swedish singer Tove Lo. It was released on 18 September 2026, through her independent record label, Pretty Swede Records.

Background and development

Estrus was recorded across sessions in Los Angeles, Stockholm, and a small Swedish village where Lo spent part of her childhood. During the album's early development in late 2024, she struggled to write material that felt authentic, explaining that she was "in the middle of some kind of personal metamorphosis" and found it difficult to express herself creatively. She later resumed her work on the project in the secluded Swedish village with producer Ludvig Söderberg, where they worked without distractions and began shaping the album's direction.

"Estrus is an animal in heat. It's primal, contradicting emotional chaos. It's my mind and my body wanting different things, wanting everything."

— Lo, about the album's name Estrus

The title of Estrus derives from the biological term for a reproductive cycle in mammals, which she used to frame the record's instinctive and feminine perspective. Lo described Estrus's concept as being driven by conflicting emotional and physical desires, and added that the album offers "a lot of feelings, no solutions". She created the project primarily with collaborators, including Söderberg, Elvira Anderfjärd, and Luka Kloser, while Belgian musician Stromae appears as a featured artist.

Promotion

Lo announced her sixth studio album, Estrus, on 11 May 2026, sharing its cover artwork and track listing. Same day, she also unveiled its lead single, "I'm Your Girl Right?"; it was released on 13 May along with its Nogari-directed music video that was filmed in São Paulo with 70 dancers. In support of the album, she will embark on its accompanying tour, which is set to began on September 15 in Nashville at the Pinnacle and conclude on November 19 at Avicii Arena. Mallrat (North America), Rose Gray (UK and Europe), and Cobrah (Brooklyn) will serve as a supporting act of the tour.

She released "Des fleurs", with Stromae, on 12 June 2026.

"DNH" was released as the third single off the album on July 29, 2026.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star
Beats Per Minute8/10
Clash7/10
MusicOMHStarStarStarStar
Pitchfork7.0/10
Slant MagazineStarStarStarHalf star

Estrus received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

AllMusic's Heather Phares writes that, "Despite her [Lo's] personal changes, Estrus doubles down on everything that defines her music. Lo makes a full return to the dance floor after Dirt Femme, fueling the album's beats with lust, jealousy, and self-doubt.", however adds that "[Estrus] isn't as decisive as her best work, Lo is still an expert at chronicling messy, vulnerable, defiant femininity -- and at making complicated feelings catchy."

Writing for Beats Per Minute, Mary Chiney praised the album and called it "the most grown-up record she [Tove] has made". She criticised however the length of the album calling it a "limitation" and something that causes "a certain unwillingness to finish thoughts."

Phil Taylor of Clash writes that the "songwriting is top class on almost all of this album’s tracks" yet pointes out that some of the tracks feel like they were "little less considered" than the others."

Michael Savio from Slant Magazine named Estrus "frenzied emotional terrain [that] can occasionally leave one feeling a little cold." Pitchfork's Aimee Cliff lamented that "Estrus doesn’t always sound as liberated or unexpected as that description promises."

Track listing

Estrus track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."A Lot of Feelings, No Solutions"
A Strut0:50
2."I'm Your Girl Right?"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
A Strut2:49
3."If I Could I Would"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
A Strut2:07
4."Des fleurs" (with Stromae)
2:52
5."DNH"
2:27
6."F.A.M.T"
3:13
7."I'm the Cake"
  • Lo
  • Oscar Görres
Görres2:18
8."The Bad One"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
A Strut2:54
9."Die for My Art with a Lonely Heart"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
  • Nelson
  • A Strut
  • TimFromTheHouse
2:33
10."Are We on a Break"
  • Lo
  • Madelene Eliasson
  • Johan Salomonsson
  • Söderberg
  • Nelson
  • A Strut
  • TimFromTheHouse
3:13
11."Idiot"
  • Lo
  • Tailtiu Ní Mhuirí
  • Söderberg
2:49
12."Roomie"
  • Lo
  • Charlie Twaddle
  • Söderberg
A Strut2:12
13."Source of Life"
  • Lo
  • Söderberg
A Strut2:11
Total length:32:28

Notes

  • ^[c] signifies a co-producer.
  • "Des fleurs" is stylised as "des fleurs x stromae".
  • All songs are stylized in lower case, except the word "I" and the initial letters.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.

  • Tove Lo – vocals, background vocals
  • Alex Ghenea – mixing
  • Jack Normile – mixing assistance
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • A Strut – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (1–3, 5, 8–13)
  • Jeremy Lertola – engineering (1–3, 5, 8–13)
  • Johan Malmberg Hector – guitar (2), bass guitar (13)
  • Shellback – drums (2)
  • Max Grahn – guitar (3)
  • Oscar Görres – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming, engineering (4, 7); guitar (7)
  • Stromae – vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, programming (4)
  • TimFromTheHouse – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (5, 9, 10)
  • Oscar Holter – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (5)
  • Elvira Anderfjärd – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming, engineering (6)
  • Luka Kloser – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming, engineering (6)
  • Tove Burman – background vocals (6)
  • Johan Salmonsson – background vocals (10)
  • Tailtiu – bass guitar, drums, keyboards, programming (11)
  • Charlie Twaddle – background vocals (12)

Charts

Chart performance
Chart (2026) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)107
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)31
French Albums (SNEP)84
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)89
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)27
Portuguese Streaming Albums (AFP) 200
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)79
UK Albums (Official Charts)63
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)9
US Billboard 200184
US Independent Albums (Billboard)24
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)5

Release history

Release dates and formats
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various 18 September 2026 Pretty Swede

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources

References

  1. 1 2 "'There's No Good Advice on This Album': Tove Lo Announces New Record Estrus". The Line of Best Fit. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Fuamoli, Sosefina (11 May 2026). "Tove Lo Tells Us About Redefining Herself with New Album Estrus". Rolling Stone Australia / New Zealand. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 Harrigan, Annie (11 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus: 'It's Primal, Contradicting Emotional Chaos'". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Murray, Robin (14 May 2026). "Tove Lo Launches Her Estrus Era". Clash. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Stoddard, Cait (13 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus for September 2026 Release, Teases New Single 'I'm Your Girl Right'". MXDWN. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Jones, Abby (13 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus: Hear 'I'm Your Girl Right?'". Stereogum. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Coplan, Chris (14 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus, 2026 Tour Dates". Consequence. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Stickler, Jon (13 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces Sixth Album Estrus and Accompanying North American, UK and European Tour Dates". Stereoboard. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Rigotti, Alex (14 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus with Sultry Single 'I'm Your Girl Right?' and 2026 World Tour". NME. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Tove Lo Has Returned with Feverish New Single 'I'm Your Girl Right?' and Details of Sixth Album Estrus". Dork. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Stockton, Nick (14 May 2026). "Tove Lo Announces New Album Estrus Alongside 2026 Tour Dates". Vice. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Lapierre, Megan (13 May 2026). "Tove Lo Maps Out Estrus Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Murray, Robin (12 June 2026). "Tove Lo, Stromae Combine For 'des fleurs' | News". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Tove Lo – Estrus reviews and tracks". Metacritic.
  15. 1 2 Phares, Heather (2026). "Estrus - Tove Lo". AllMusic.
  16. 1 2 Chiney, Mary (22 September 2026). "Album Review: Tove Lo – ESTRUS". Beats Per Minute.
  17. 1 2 "Tove Lo – ESTRUS". Clash. 2026.
  18. ↑ "Tove Lo – ESTRUS". musicOMH. 2026.
  19. 1 2 Cliff, Aimee. "Tove Lo: ESTRUS". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
  20. 1 2 Savio, Michael (14 September 2026). "Tove Lo 'Estrus' Review: Hot Mess, Cold Comfort". Slant Magazine.
  21. ↑ "Estrus / Tove Lo / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  22. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 28 September 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tove Lo – Estrus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tove Lo – Estrus" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Top Albums (Semaine du 25 septembre 2026)". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Tove Lo – Estrus" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "History of Top 20 Independent Charts (2026-09-25) – IRMA". IRMA. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "Top 200 Stream Álbuns: Semana 39 de 2026" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 25/9/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  30. ↑ "Veckolista Album, vecka 39, 2026". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  31. ↑ "Tove Lo – Estrus – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 September 2026.
  32. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 25/9/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
  33. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 25/9/2026 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
  34. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  35. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  36. ↑ "Tove Lo Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 September 2026.
  37. ↑ "Estrus CD". Tove Lo Shop. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  38. ↑ "Estrus - Album by Tove Lo". Apple Music (US). 18 September 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  39. ↑ "Estrus Vinyl". Tove Lo Shop. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.