Tove Lo's 'Estrus' Anchors a Busy New Music Friday

September 18 brings one of the most crowded release days of the fall. Swedish pop star Tove Lo headlines the slate with ESTRUS, her sixth studio album and first since 2022's Dirt Femme, which arrived today via Pretty Swede Records and Virgin Music Group, according to Consequence.

The 13-track record has been framed as a study in contradiction. The title refers to the biological term for a female mammal in heat, and Tove Lo has used it as both a joke and a thesis for an album that sits, per her press materials, somewhere between hedonism and vulnerability. She recorded it with longtime collaborator Ludvig Söderberg alongside newer partners Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser, working in Los Angeles, Stockholm, and a small Swedish fishing village where she spent childhood summers.

What is on ESTRUS

The album's sole guest appearance comes from Belgian artist Stromae on the track des fleurs, BroadwayWorld reports. Lead single I'm your girl right?, released earlier this year with coverage from Stereogum, set the tone: twitchy dance-pop production paired with lyrics about insecurity and the need for reassurance. Slant Magazine's review describes ESTRUS as Tove Lo's most relentlessly nightclub-ready record, with the metallic, rubbery production of songs like DNH and If I Could I Would built for dark rooms while the lyrics stay direct about messy friendships, body image, and self-doubt.

Critics have also noted how the record refuses to resolve its tensions. Rather than stepping outside the chaos to offer perspective, Tove Lo stays inside it, letting opposing impulses like happiness and sadness or freedom and commitment coexist across the tracklist. The singer has said there is no good advice on this album, only a lot of feelings and no solutions, a line that has become the record's unofficial mission statement.

The rest of Friday's stacked lineup

Tove Lo is far from the only artist with something new today. British singer beabadoobee released Pylon, her fourth studio album, via Dirty Hit and Interscope, The FADER reports. The record leans further into distorted rock than her earlier work, with a guest list drawn from across indie and heavy music: Hayley Williams, Turnstile's Brendan Yates, Pinegrove's Evan Stephens Hall, Deftones' Chino Moreno, and Title Fight's Shane Moran all appear, while Matty Healy and George Daniel of The 1975 handled production. A fall tour begins in October.

R&B singer-songwriter Daley returned with STRANGE NATURE, a 10-track album released today and his first full project since 2018. The record features Marsha Ambrosius, Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, and Yussef Dayes, and follows his spring comeback single LAVENDER as well as HEADLIGHTS, his latest collaboration with Ambrosius. Daley launched a 27-city US tour earlier this week in support of the album, according to BroadwayWorld.

On the heavier end of the spectrum, Florida rock band Nonpoint put out The Last Word, its 11th studio album and first full-length since 2018's X, via its own 361 Degrees Records label. Parade reports that the band announced the record alongside the official video for lead single Is It, which arrived digitally in April and became the most-added song at Active Rock radio before climbing the Mediabase chart. Frontman Elias Soriano has framed the title as a statement of intent, telling press the band is pushing back against expectations and into its next chapter after nearly three decades together.

Where to start listening

For newcomers, ESTRUS is the clearest entry point: it is Tove Lo's most immediate record in years and the release most likely to dominate playlists this weekend. Fans of guitar music should turn to Pylon, while STRANGE NATURE offers a slower, more jazz-inflected alternative for late-night listening. Each of the four records rewards a full playthrough, and together they make September 18 one of the strongest release days of the season.

For more music coverage, see our report on Ella Langley's record-tying single. All of today's releases are streaming now. The Consequence announcement has more on ESTRUS, and The FADER's report covers the full story behind beabadoobee's Pylon.